Florence Flooding In The Carolinas: ‘The Worst Is Yet To Come’

Rescue teams were trying to reach hundreds of people on Monday and racing against rising rivers and floods that could last for days after Florence dumped record rain on the Carolinas and killed at least 31 people. “It’s worrying to watch the water slowly rising”.

A house is seen flooded by rain after Hurricane Florence swept through the town of Wallace, North Carolina, U.S., September 15, 2018.

“There’s too much going on”, he told a news conference.

At least 20 people are dead and 500,000 are without power as a result of Florence, the deadliest weather system to have hit the USA this year.

City officials estimate there has been $6 million in damages so far, Stephens said.

A day earlier, Hurricane Florence had covered the course with six inches of rushing water, he said.

For many, the water is not the only hazard, but also the loss of power. North Carolina will be dealing with flooding for at least two weeks, said Wylie Quillian, a hydrologist at the agency’s Southeast River Forecast Center in Peachtree City, Georgia.

A boring, leaden sky hung over Grifton on Sunday.

Speaking with members of the press outside of the Craven County Courthouse, Cooper said state and local governments have to figure out how to rebuild their communities after the destruction of Hurricane Florence. “But the current is insane”. “I’m a bit anxious for my home”.

“People need to understand that some areas are likely to be without power for a while”, said North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. Officials have reported flooding caused by Tropical Storm Florence in Union County, located between Charlotte and Anson County.

The flooding is coming from rivers, rather than the ocean, thanks to the feet of rain that have fallen since Thursday night. A woman died in SC when her auto hit a fallen tree.

“Not only are you going to see more impact across North Carolina. but we’re also anticipating you are about to see a lot of damage going through West Virginia, all the way up to OH as the system exits out”, Brock Long of the Federal Emergency Management Agency told Fox News on Sunday.

Among the other fatalities were two men in their 70s who died in Lenoir County – one had been connecting extension cords and another was blown by high winds when checking on his dogs. Officials warned people not to drive through floodwaters, even if they appear shallow.

“The agriculture industry, the largest industry in our state is hard-hit. I think it tells us these aren’t really 500-year floods and are an occurrence that is going to happen to us more and more”, he noted.

Nearly 500,000 people began the day without power in North Carolina. Fifteen thousand meanwhile were being housed in 158 shelters across the state.

“For many (most?) places, the worst of Florence’s flooding is still on the way”, meteorologist Eric Holthaus noted in a tweet on Sunday. “Driving is treacherous and flooding is impacting our ability to restore power”.