Page 12 - Root Systems News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Die out, you have those root systems that hold on to that soil, if the root systems are gone, then the island no longer exists, and that's a problem. you have to remember the animals. there was actually a bird that was actually picked up in the gulf of mexico yesterday, let's go right to the video and show you that, this from wwl one of our cnn affiliates on the coast. this bird is called a northern ganette. these migratory birds dive below the surface of the water to get their food, and without this cleanup that this bird is going to undergo right here at a recovery center in venice, louisian...

Sensitive spots. right over my shoulder, you can see some of the grasses. when the oil moves into these places, it can kill some of the grasses. the roots are the anchor for some of the soil that you have back in these areas. if you have those grasses die out, the root systems are gone, it will change the landscape here forever. some of the other animals affected, the oysters, bottom feeders where you have the river and the salt water meeting. they could be contaminated. birds affected very quickly. you get the oil on the feathers, the birds can't fly. if they can't fly, they can't feed themse...

Ever closer. let's pan off a little bit. off in the distance, you can see some of the grasses. that is one of the first things that could be affected by that oil coming onshore. as the oil gets closer, those grasses can dry. once they die, the extensive root systems that hold on that soil, those die too. that is the anchor that holds that soil together. another thing that will be affected, obviously, the wildlife. more specifically, some of the birds. the birds, when they get that oil that gets on their feathers, then they can't fly. then, they can't hunt and can't eat and may starve to death....

Over the next three days, it could get eight months -- eight months worth of rain. that's on top of the 90-mile-an-hour winds we are beginning to feel. the eyewall fwinibeginning to p over us right now. this is the sign of what is to come for the north carolina coast down into south carolina. that's where we find cnn's chris cuomo in north myrtle beach. chris. >> john, you are our future. we are just getting our first taste of florence here. that is the concern with hurricanes, you think 6 hours or 12 hours maybe. this we hear could be a day and a half or 30 hours or more. the gusts for hours ...

Intensity. what does that mean? it creates more vulnerability every area that it passes over. ground that has been soaked for many hours. root systems of vegetation. structures taking on a lot of water. so vulnerabilities increase over time and so does the pressure on people that have to hunker down. for that let's go to brian todd. they thought they had seen the worst. it's going to last throughout the entire day and into the night. brian, what's it like right now? >> well, we're pretty much getting pummelled in downtown wilmington. but they have been dealing with this pounding rain and the r...