Hurricane Florence was a powerful and long-lived tropical cyclone that caused catastrophic freshwater flooding in the Carolinas in September 2018. Originating from a tropical wave off West Africa on August 30, it rapidly intensified to a Category 4 hurricane, peaking with 150 mph winds on September 11 before making landfall as a weakened Category 1 storm just south of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, on September 14. As the threat became clear, governors of five states and the mayor of Washington, D.C. declared states of emergency, and mandatory evacuations were issued for coastal communities. The storm's slow movement unleashed torrential rain for days, setting maximum rainfall records for both Carolinas and causing widespread flooding that cut off Wilmington and inundated cities like Fayetteville and Lumberton. It also spawned tornadoes, including a deadly EF2 in Virginia, and ultimately caused $24.23 billion in damage and 54 deaths.