Waves crash around the Oceana Pier as the outer edges of Hurricane Florence being to affect the coast September 13, 2018 in Atlantic Beach, United States. Coastal cities in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virgnian are under evacuation orders as the Category 2 hurricane approaches the United States.

The National Hurricane Center lowered Hurricane Florence to Category 2 on Thursday, but the catastrophic combination of heavy rain and a severe storm surge are making the storm more dangerous than ever.

With Florence nearing landfall, AccuWeather founder and president and chairman Joel Myers estimated the costs from the storm will be at least $30 billion, and as much as $60 billion, placing it easily within the top 10 costliest in U.S. history.