Not sure if anyone has brought this up but I think this may be of interest… a few months ago there was a simulation of a worst-case-scenario hurricane, Cora, hitting the same area Florence is heading. Looks like they predicted some pretty severe damage to everything from blocking exit ways to coast guard communications and power completely gone.
“…The simulated hurricane knocked out power for most gas stations in the Mid-Atlantic region, damaged a nuclear power plant and sent debris into major shipping channels, among other problems, according to a Department of Energy simulation manual.
“What they were trying to do was create a worst-case scenario, but it’s a very realistic scenario,” said Joshua Behr, a research professor at Virginia’s Old Dominion University who is involved in disaster modeling and simulations.
Florence is also a Category 4 storm and is now forecast to strike the same general area. On Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center’s “cone” displaying Florence’s projected path included the Hampton Roads, Virginia, region where Cora supposedly made landfall.
Senior leaders from the White House, along with more than 91 federal departments and agencies, participated in the “national level exercise” in late April and early May, FEMA said.
The fictional storm made landfall in the heavily populated Hampton Roads region, bringing a 15-foot (0.3 meter) storm surge and up to 9 inches (23 centimeters) of rain to some areas within the first six hours. That cut off main routes - used for escape as well as for rescuers - in the Hampton Roads area and elsewhere.
In the scenario, Cora also slammed hurricane-force winds into three nuclear power stations. One was damaged. Thirty-three major power substations were at risk from storm surge and major flooding.
Key roads and bridges were also damaged, and debris blocked the Newport News Channel and other waterways. Coast Guard Station Cape Charles lost power, and Coast Guard Station Chincoteague was severely damaged by high winds. The ferocious fictional storm also damaged and closed Reagan National Airport in Washington…”
Sauce- https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/sep/11/category-4-hurricane-cora-devastates-east-coast-fe/