N.C. man who fell from ladder Dorian's first U.S. death

Sept. 4 (UPI) -- A North Carolina man who fell from a ladder while storm-proofing his home became the first death in the United States caused by Hurricane Dorian, Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday.

"We really are very sorry about that and thinking about his family," Cooper said. "It reminds us that preparations for storms can really be a dangerous activity."

Sheriff's deputy Aaron Herring said the man fell Monday while repairing the roof of his home. He died the same day at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, the N.C. Department of Public Safety Emergency Management said.

President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for North Carolina on Wednesday, making federal agencies available to coordinate disaster relief efforts in the state.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, in particular, has been tapped to provide resources necessary to alleviate impacts of Hurricane Dorian.

On Wednesday, Trump defended his administration's decision last week to reallocate FEMA money to address an influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. He told reporters FEMA is using "much less" money "than we have anticipated" in response to Hurricane Dorian.

"We thought this was originally going to be a direct hit into Miami and we would have been satisfied anyway," Trump said.

"We need help on the border," he said, adding that he plans to have 500 miles of border wall nearly or fully complete by the end of 2020.

Trump said money taken in from tariffs from China will help aid any farms along the coast affected by the hurricane.

Nearly 400,000 North Carolina residents were under mandatory evacuations, as well as several counties each in Georgia and South Carolina. U.S. National Guard officials said there are 5,500 National Guard members in four states to support FEMA in relief efforts within 24 hours or less.

"They're ready to provide full-spectrum recovery support to all those impacted by Hurricane Dorian," Air Force Gen. Joe Lengyel said during a Pentagon press conference.

The majority of those troops are in Florida, he said, but the other states of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina are all preparing forces ahead of the hurricane.

"The National Guard can also draw upon from a proven and highly trained force of over 450,000 men and women, National Guard soldiers and airmen from all 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia if needed," he said.

More troops could be mobilized as the storm moves north, he said, adding that the states to be influenced by the storm are "very big Guard states," with an excess of 10,000 guardsmen each.

"The preparation for this hurricane started last spring," he said.

Though Hurricane Dorian was moving north of Florida on Wednesday afternoon, the Jacksonville County Sheriff's Office warned residents to stay away from the beach due to hurricane swells.

A Neptune Beach lifeguard saved a woman who was knocked down by waves and pulled into the ocean while she stood on the beach.