FRYING PAN TOWER, NC -- An American flag ripped by Hurricane Florence's outer bands went viral on social media Thursday. Now that flag will be replaced.

  • Flag at Frying Pan Tower was only replaced a few weeks ago
  • FlagandBanner.com will replace the flag

Americans watched online and on TV as Florence's winds ripped up the flag still flying at Frying Pan Tower. The former Coast Guard Light Station located 34 miles off the Carolina coast is now a bed and breakfast, but people are not there all the time. 

 So no one was there to remove the flag, which had just been replaced a few weeks prior, when Florence hit the area. 

A camera at the tower caught the flag flying, and ripping, as the winds picked up.

The people who help run the tower say the Flag and Banner.com will be replacing the tower's flags with donated flags. 

The people with Frying Pan Tower hope to get helicopter access some time next week.

The connection to the camera on the tower is currently down, so we don't know yet whether flag -- and the tower -- survived the storm.