Former Rhode Islander riding out Florence in South Carolina

Hundreds of people needing to be rescued from rising flood waters after Tropical Storm Florence made landfall as a hurricane Friday, dumping life-threatening amounts of rain and killing five people including an infant.

A former Rhode Islander decided to hunker down and ride out the storm in his new home of Conway, South Carolina, and showed ABC 6 via FaceTime the view from outside his home as Florence lingers over the region.

Bob Thibodeau moved from Burrillville just last year to his new home, a stone’s throw away from Myrtle Beach.

"Tremendous amounts of rain. Been seeing debris all over the road," he said. "My neighbor call me, he had a tree [on his roof]."

Thibodeau felt comfortable to not evacuate, but said he was well-prepared, boarding up every single window in his home.

"If it was a [category] three or four we would’ve been out of here," he said. "We would’ve not hunkered down."

Although intense rains and winds of up to 105 mph have hit the Carolinas, in Thibodeau’s neck of the woods, he said it wasn’t as bad as he was expecting.

"I was expecting the worst but it’s not as bad. We’re relieved it went from a [category] one to a four," Thibodeau said. "Very lucky. We dodged a bullet, a big bullet."

Tropical Storm Florence is expected to linger over the region over the weekend, with flooding expected through Sunday.