While Hurricane Florence appears to have slowed somewhat on its approach toward the southern coast of North Carolina, forecasts are now predicting patterns that may cause the storm to stall along the shoreline, possibly spinning in place for days and dropping up to three feet of rain in some areas. More than a million people are under evacuation orders across a broad swath of the East Coast, and they have been busy preparing their homes, packing their valuables, and making their way out of town. Florence is now expected to make landfall sometime on Saturday, near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Photos: Preparing for Hurricane Florence
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Russell Meadows boards up his neighbors' home in Morehead City, North Carolina, as a projection of Hurricane Florence is broadcast on a television inside on September 11, 2018. #
David Goldman / AP -
Laura Gretch, a Humane Rescue Alliance transport manager, holds Frances, an 8-year-old Chihuahua mix that is one of the 26 cats and dogs arriving at the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, D.C., from Norfolk Animal Care and Control in Norfolk, Virginia, in advance of Hurricane Florence on September 11, 2018. #
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A sailor heaves line during a heavy-weather mooring operation in preparation for Hurricane Florence in Norfolk, Virginia, on September 11, 2018. Some ships will not get underway due to maintenance and are taking extra precautions to avoid potential damage. #
Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Justin Wolpert / U.S. Navy via Getty -
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Recruits at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island prepare to depart following an evacuation order directed by Brigadier General James Glynn, the depot's commanding general. All Marines at the depot who are currently in recruit training will be transported to a base in Georgia. #
Sgt. Dana Beesley / U.S. Marine Corps via AP -
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Workers take boats out of the water in Wanchese Harbor as Hurricane Florence approaches the coast of the Carolinas on September 12, 2018, in Wanchese, North Carolina. #
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An employee of the Wrightsville Beach parking office collects the electronic parts of the parking meters on North Lumina Avenue on September 11, 2018, in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, in anticipation of a high storm surge. #
Logan Cyrus / AFP / Getty -
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A warning flag flies as high tide surrounds an old cottage that has already succumbed to long-term beach erosion in Nags Head, North Carolina, on September 12, 2018. #
Gerry Broome / AP -
Shenae Thurston carries her baby as her family cuts short their vacation and evacuates the South Bay Inn and Suites hotel ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Florence on September 11, 2018, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. #
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Marge Brown, 65, says goodbye to her father, George Brown, 90, before he is evacuated from a health-care home in Morehead City, North Carolina, on September 12, 2018. "I'd like to stay and see what happens. I'm 90 plus," said George Brown, a World War II veteran who says he's survived a plane crash and severe burns from a laboratory fire where he once worked. #
David Goldman / AP -
Sailors cast off mooring lines to the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) on September 11, 2018, as the ship evacuates Naval Station Norfolk. #
Jennifer Hunt / U.S. Navy via AP -
Kali, a 1-year old calico cat, looks out from an enclosure at Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2018. Kali is one of 26 cats and dogs that arrived in Washington from Norfolk Animal Care and Control in Norfolk, Virginia, ahead of Hurricane Florence. #
Carolyn Kaster / AP -
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Stanford, a six-month old Chihuahua mix, barks from inside a crate in a van as 26 cats and dogs arrive in Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2018, from Norfolk, Virginia. #
Carolyn Kaster / AP -
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