THE full force of Hurricane Florence can be seen in this terrifying video shot by NASA from space.
The military has been forced to retreat in the face of the category 4 storm with marines recruits ordered to evacuate their Parris Island training base.
Sailors and other personnel from the world's largest naval base in Virginia were also moved and pilots flew their F-15 fighters and KC-135 tankers to safety in Louisiana.
It comes as two million people in three states across America were warned to get out of the way of the storm.
Florence was expected to the east coast of America late Thursday or early Friday with 140 mph winds and potentially ruinous rains.
Forecasters and politicians pleaded with the public to take the warnings seriously and minced no words in describing the threat.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said: "This storm is a monster. It's big and it's vicious. It is an extremely, dangerous, life-threatening, historic hurricane."
He added: "The waves and the wind this storm may bring is nothing like you've ever seen. Even if you've ridden out storms before, this one is different. Don't bet your life on riding out a monster."
President Donald Trump declared states of emergency for North and South Carolina and Virginia, opening the way for federal aid.
He said the federal government is "absolutely, totally prepared" for Florence.
All three states ordered mass evacuations along the coast.
People across the region rushed to buy bottled water and other supplies, board up their homes, pull their boats out of the water and get out of town.
Long lines formed at service stations, and some started running out of gas with bright yellow bags, signs or rags placed over the pumps to show they were out of order. Some store shelves were picked clean.
The storm's coastal surge could leave the eastern tip of North Carolina under more than 9 feet of water in spots, projections showed.
"This one really scares me," National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham said.
Federal officials begged residents to put together emergency kits and have a plan on where to go.
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Jeff Byard, an official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said: "This storm is going to knock out power days into weeks. It's going to destroy infrastructure. It's going to destroy homes."
Forecasters said parts of North Carolina could get 20 inches of rain, if not more, with as much as 10 inches elsewhere in the state and in Virginia, parts of Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Florence's projected path includes half a dozen nuclear power plants, pits holding coal-ash and other industrial waste, and numerous hog farms that store animal waste in huge lagoons.
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