Watch Hurricane Florence’s Intense Winds Shred an American Flag

As Hurricane Florence moves through the Atlantic ocean on a path for the U.S. Southeast, video of an American flag being shredded by the winds has surfaced.

The flag appears to be the one positioned on Frying Pan Tower, which is a little over 30 miles off the coast of Cape Fear, North Carolina.

A description of the tower found on Explore.org states that “the tower was built in the 1960s to warn ships of the shallow waters nearby.”

The sight of the flag being torn apart is a terrifying analogy for what meteorologists and weather experts are saying that residents of the Carolina’s can expect when the full-force of Florence hits.

Affects of the storm are already being felt, however, as mass flooding has already begun in many coastal cities.

State officials have urged residents to evacuate if they can, with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper saying on Thursday that “there is still time to get out.”

“Don’t risk your life riding out a monster storm,” he added. “You’re potentially risking the life of a first responder who would try to come and help you and we don’t need that. I know it’s difficult to move, and I know that you are leaving things behind that you don’t want to leave behind, but no possession is worth your life.”

Gov. Cooper also shared that the greatest concern that officials have is the “flooding and the storm surge,” adding, “those are the two main things that kill people, and this storm is not letting up.”

Hurricane Florence is still many miles out off the Eastern coast, but is speculated to make landfall sometime on Friday.

Wind speeds are expected to be around 100 miles per hour at that time, and the rainfall is projected to be at historic levels.