Copy by Fahad Alotaibi

As the powerful Hurricane Florence made its way to the Carolina Coast boasting high-speed winds of 144 mph with a high possibility of catastrophic flooding in the areas surrounding the coast, myself and a photojournalist colleague, Michael Blackshire, headed to Wilmington, North Carolina, on Thursday, Sept. 13 to experience disaster news coverage firsthand. The hurricane began slamming the coast of North Carolina near Wrightsville Beach on Friday morning, although Hurricane Florence had been downgraded to a Category 1 storm. 

Rain and heavy gusts continued throughout North Carolina for nearly a week, causing rivers and lakes to overflow, making a majority of the roadways, including major highways and interstates, impassable through Thursday, Sept. 20.