One of the most powerful storms to ever hit the U.S. mainland is lashing the Florida panhandle.

(AP) - The Marines, the Coast Guard, civilian crews and volunteers used helicopters, boats and heavy-duty vehicles Saturday to rescue scores of people trapped by Florence’s shoreline onslaught, even as North Carolina braced for what could be the next stage of the disaster: widespread, catastrophic flooding inland. 

Hurricane Florence has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm, according to the latest NHC advisory, but is still considered extremely dangerous and life-threatening.