FEMA administrator Brock Long said on CBS' Face the Nation that studies estimating the death toll from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico are "all over the place," after President Trump baselessly claimed this week that Democrats inflated the numbers in a new study that put the total number of deaths from the storm near 3,000.
Typhoon Mangkhut forced more than 2.4 million people in China’s Guangdong province to relocate Sunday, where it made landfall after killing at least 64 people in the northern Philippines, AP reports.
Historic rainfall continues to wreak havoc in the Carolinas, where all-time rainfall records have already been broken. A swath of land between Wilmington and New Bern, North Carolina, is closing in on 40 inches of rainfall, as the heaviest rains begin to shift into a new, treacherous area: the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The big picture: The National Weather Service continues to warn of "catastrophic" and "life-threatening" flash flooding on Sunday as coastal North Carolina receives up to another half a foot of rain, since the circulation around the storm is still pulling in copious amounts of Atlantic moisture. The storm has killed at least a dozen people so far, and this number is likely to rise.
Portions of the Carolinas have been inundated by the heaviest amount of rain on record for this region, and torrential rain is still falling. Parts of southern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina could see another foot or more of rain through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
The big picture: Flood levels could hit record highs at multiple locations during the next week. For example, the Cape Fear River near Fayetteville is projected to rise nearly 45 feet, to near 62.4 feet by Tuesday. Homes within 1 mile of the river were evacuated on Saturday.
Super typhoon Mangkhut is making its way out of the Philippines and is now moving west toward China, reports BBC, after killing at least 14 people.
Why it matters: Mangkhut was one of the strongest storms on in the past two decades to strike northern Luzon, explains Axios Science Editor Andrew Freedman. It’s now a weaker system, but threatens to bring heavy rain, flooding, and damaging winds to China, including Hong Kong, during the next few days.
Hotels and airlines are relaxing their policies to offer refuge and support for those fleeing Tropical Storm Florence, including opening their doors for free and waving traditionally pricey rebooking fees for travelers.
The big picture: Millions were forced to evacuate before Florence hit the Carolinas hard on Friday. Conditions haven't let up as mandatory evacuations continue in parts of North Carolina. As of Saturday morning, at least seven had been killed as the storm crawls along the coast.
A cloud of suspicion has set in around a New Mexico observatory that was emptied of personnel suddenly last week for unknown reasons, and continues to remain empty, the Washington Post reports.
The details: Per the Post, the entrance to the National Solar Observatory has been "blocked by yellow crime scene tape," and security officers tasked with guarding the entrance said even they didn't know what had happened. A spokeswoman for the nonprofit that runs the observatory has said it "definitely wasn't aliens," per the Post, but speculation still remains.
North and South Carolina were hammered by Hurricane Florence after it made landfall on Friday. As of Saturday morning, at least seven have been killed as the storm continues its crawl along the coast.
The big picture: Axios' Andrew Freedman explains that the danger of Florence lies in "the surge and inland flooding from what is likely to be the worst tropical cyclone-related rainstorm in North Carolina history."
"Elon Musk’s SpaceX, demonstrating [his] penchant for showmanship, announced that it had signed up the first private passenger seeking to fly around the moon," per The Wall Street Journal's Andy Pasztor.
The details: "The identity of the passenger [is] expected to be disclosed Monday." Some industry officials say the rocket may be at least a year or two from an initial test flight, but "[o]thers speculated that, based on SpaceX’s history, the [rocket, dubbed the] BFR may not launch humans until the middle of the next decade."
Tropical Storm Florence's relentless rain is causing devastating flooding in the Carolinas and promises even more today.
The latest: A least seven are dead — including a baby, per CNN. The National Hurricane Center reported gusts over 105 mph on the Outer Banks. "The storm's center is crawling inland over South Carolina, but its main rain bands largely are over already-saturated North Carolina — setting up what may be days of flooding for some communities."
Waffle Houses throughout the South are being used to determine the damage and stability of communities in North and South Carolina as the state rides out Hurricane Florence.
How it works: The Federal Emergency Management Agency uses the "Waffle House Index" to determine if an establishment is offering a full menu. According to FEMA, "If a Waffle House can serve a full menu, they’ve likely got power (or are running on a generator). A limited menu means an area may not have running water or electricity, but there’s gas for the stove to make bacon, eggs, and coffee: exactly what hungry, weary people need."
