North Carolina officials say the catastrophic flooding and destruction from Hurricane Helene likely caused at least $53 billion in damages and recovery needs in the state.

(Alexander Gerst/ESA/NASA via AP)Hurricanes are keeping their staying power longer once they make landfall, spreading more inland destruction, according to a new study. Warmer ocean waters from climate change are likely making hurricanes lose power more slowly after landfall, because they act as a reserve fuel tank for moisture, the study found. It found that in the 1960s, hurricanes declined two-thirds in wind strength within 17 hours of landfall. There’s less study of what hurricanes do once they make landfall than out at sea, so Chakraborty said he was surprised when he saw a noticeable trend in decay taking longer. But hurricanes aren’t running out of gas as much, especially in the last 25 years when the trend accelerated, Chakraborty said.

DANVILLE, Va. - Danville announced Monday it will receive more than $2 million in federal disaster recovery funds after Tropical Storm Michael and Hurricane Florence last fall. Of the $2 million, $1.87 million is reimbursement for damages and disaster-related costs from Tropical Storm Michael. In 2018, Hurricane Florence caused power outages in Danville in September and Tropical Storm Michael caused excessive rainfall, heavy winds, flash flooding and power outages in October. City officials have submitted a total of $5.2 million in claims from Tropical Storm Michael, some of which are still being reviewed. Danville is also seeking $3.2 million from the Federal Highway Administration for costs incurred from Tropical Storm Michael.

Here's a breakdown:There's a list of names to pick fromA United Nations World Meteorological Organization committee compiles a list of names, according to the National Hurricane Center. "Obviously, the main purpose of naming a tropical cyclone/hurricane is basically for people easily to understand and remember the tropical cyclone/hurricane in a region, thus to facilitate tropical cyclone/hurricane disaster risk awareness, preparedness, management and reduction," the organization says. In the US, hurricanes and tropical storms were tracked by the year and order in which they occurred until the mid-1900s, NOAA says. So the US began using female names for storms and later added male names for all Northern Pacific storms. No, tornadoes don't get similar treatmentThe only natural phenomena that are marked with the human-like feature are tropical storms and hurricanes.

Hurricane Florence was a huge wake up call for the area, and residents want to use their experience to better prepare for this hurricane season. Copyright 2019 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.

The U.S. is in peak hurricane season right now as this latest threat rears its head. It might seem tempting, if you haven’t really looked into the issue, to take matters into our own hands. It’s 2018, where we can connect with anyone and everyone in just a matter of minutes through social media. Here’s why not, according to Landsea: “The main difficulty with using explosives to modify hurricanes is the amount of energy required. Finally, it’s pretty impractical to think that we could attack weak tropical waves or depressions before they have a chance to grow into hurricanes.

Verizon Wireless, which makes intensive preparations to maintain strong network coverage during and after storms, offers residents these tips to be safer during hurricanes:Keep wireless phone batteries fully charged in case local power is lost well before warnings are issued. Have additional charged batteries and car-charger adapters available for backup power. Maintain a list of emergency phone numbers – police, fire, and rescue agencies; power companies; insurance providers; family, friends and co-workers; etc. Distribute wireless phone numbers to family members and friends. Forward your home phone calls to your wireless number if you will be away from your home or have to evacuate.