Keep up with latest information on Hurricane Florence at WSOCTV.com.

Tuesday, September 11th

4:15 p.m.

UNC Charlotte has canceled classes beginning at 5 p.m. Wednesday ahead of Florence.

All university activities will also be canceled starting at 8 a.m. Thursday until 11:59 p.m. Friday.

He says the federal government is ready to respond to the Category 4 storm.

FEMA administrator Brock Long is warning that the hurricane will be a "devastating event" and urging Americans to evacuate if they've been asked to leave their homes. He says electric power could be out for weeks.

Trump has declared states of emergency for North and South Carolina and Virginia, and canceled campaign events Thursday and Friday in anticipation of the storm.

3:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump says the safety of the American people is his "absolute highest priority" as Hurricane Florence takes aim at portions of the East Coast.

Trump was being briefed by the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

1:30 p.m.

As Hurricane Florence continues to approach the Carolina coast, the Charlotte Motor Speedway announced it will be welcoming evacuees onto its property to ride out the storm.

1:10 p.m.

The University of North Carolina's football game scheduled for Saturday against UCF will not be played due to Hurricane Florence. All tickets for the game that were purchased through Carolina Athletics will be automatically refunded.

North Carolina State will also not play their game this weekend against West Virginia because of the storm.

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1 p.m.

Gov. Roy Cooper has issued a mandatory state evacuation for the barrier islands of North Carolina ahead of Hurricane Florence.

"Even if you've ridden out storms before, this one is different," Cooper said at a news conference. "The time to hope Florence goes away is gone."

Cooper went on to say Florence would likely stall over the state, bringing days of rain, calling the storm "extremely dangerous, life-threatening, and historic."

"The wind and waves will be like nothing you have ever seen," Cooper said.

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12:50 p.m.

President Donald Trump says the federal government is "absolutely, totally prepared" for Hurricane Florence as it heads toward the Eastern Seaboard.

The president briefed reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday.

South Carolina ahead of the Category 4 hurricane, which frees up help from federal agencies.

He has also canceled campaign events Thursday and Friday in anticipation of the storm.

The president was meeting with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency later Tuesday.

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12:15 p.m.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is saying his state is "in the bulls-eye" of Hurricane Florence. The very center of that bulls-eye may be Camp Lejeune.

Authorities on the sprawling Marine Corps training base are in emergency mode, staging equipment and urging families on the base to build survival kits with the food and equipment needed to sustain themselves for 72 hours.

Mandatory coastal evacuations were in effect for civilians in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, but the military base posted on Facebook that different chains-of-command would decide whether to release non-essential personnel. Some military families are venting fears they won't be able to evacuate in time.

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12:15 p.m.

Officials say they're taking steps to ensure safety at nuclear power plants in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane nears the state.

Ryan Mosier of Duke Energy said the power company was closely monitoring Hurricane Florence and ensuring that emergency equipment is in working order.

Duke operates three nuclear stations in South Carolina, though none are along the coast. SCANA operates two reactors at a site just north of Columbia.

Mosier said each of Duke's sites has emergency generators for backup power, as well as pumps and other redundant systems and supplies of food and water for employees.

If forecasters predict any site will experience sustained winds of 73 mph or more, Mosier said operators will begin to shut down units at least two hours prior to impact.

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