The worst of Hurricane Florence may be over for much of the Carolinas, but the effects of the category 1 hurricane are still being felt with intense flooding conditions and severe power outages.
A video of rampant looting at a Family Dollar store in Wilmington, NC, reflects chaos and panic as people are seen leaving the store with packs of Gatorade and bread, with debris strewn all over the street.
Watch the video below, tweeted by reporter Hannah Brewer:
Following the reports of looting, the Wilmington Police Department released a statement on Twitter: “NEWS ALERT – We are aware of the looting occurring at the Family Dollar Store at 13th & Greenfield Sts, unfortunately management has asked not to intervene at this time.”
Wilmington residents have been hit particularly hard by the storm, with the Wilmington Police warning residents to stay off of the roads due to the conditions and the first fatalities of the storm occurring to a Wilmington woman and her child.
Prior to the looting video, Brewer posted another video, this one to reveal the incredibly long lines of people waiting outside of a Harris Teeter grocery store in order to get more supplies.
Brewer tweeted, “I have never seen anything like this y’all. This is an hour and half long line to get into a Harris Teeter in #WilmingtonNC. They are only letting a certain number of people in at one time. It’s crazy how a natural disaster brings such chaos”
I have never seen anything like this y’all. This is an hour and half long line to get into a Harris Teeter in #WilmingtonNC. They are only letting a certain number of people in at one time. It’s crazy how a natural disaster brings such chaos @WFMY
A day earlier, four individuals were arrested in Brunswick County for breaking into cars and businesses during the chaos of the hurricane. According to WWAYTV, Dashaun Smith, 25, and Brandon Bellamy, 30, were both charged with “possession of burglary tools” and “breaking and or entering” a Tommy’s Mini Mart in Leland. Similarly, Devin Harris, 21, and Justice Harris, 18, were both charged with “breaking or entering” a motor vehicle. They are being held under a $5,000 bond each.
Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram told The New York Post of the looting in North Carolina, “Naturally, you’ll have individuals that will try to look for opportunities to prey upon people when they are at their most vulnerable. In this situation, we’ve had a lot of people that have evacuated their homes and businesses … and we have already seen that through the night.”
Hurricane Florence is far from over. According to CNN, the storm is going to continue hovering over the Carolinas and causing potential for life-threatening conditions from flooding particularly. The mayor of Fayetteville, NC, has warned his residents to “evacuate…[or] notify their next of kin” if they choose not to heed those warnings.