Florence punishes Carolinas with torrential rain, flooding

North Carolina Sen. Thom TillisThomas (Thom) Roland TillisSunday shows preview: Trump faces fallout after Manafort flips Live coverage: Trump court pick on the hot seat in day two of hearing Patient groups say GOP bill on pre-existing conditions is insufficient MORE (R) said earlier Sunday that the storm has caused billions of dollars of destruction already as it continues to makes its way through the state. That rain will cause significant river flooding, with some rivers not cresting until later this week. Five people died in SC, including three in auto accidents and two from a generator’s carbon monoxide.

In Leland, a low-lying city north of Wilmington, homes and local businesses were engulfed by water yesterday. Wilmington International Airport and Fort Macon suffered gusts of 105 miles per hour, the National Weather Service said. Major record river flooding is expected to continue for days, even after the heavy rain has ceased. The highway could be flooded near Fayetteville and near the SC state line because of expected flooding in the Cape Fear and Lumber rivers.

Rainfall has totaled over 20 inches in several locations, while some have seen more than 30 inches.

And flooding was so extensive that one coastal city, Wilmington, was complete cut off. City officials said they were arranging for food and water to be flown in, but some of the few grocery stores and restaurants still open were already imposing their own rationing.

“The fact that there haven’t been more deaths and damage is incredible and a blessing”, said Rebekah Roth, walking around Wilmington’s Winoca Terrace neighborhood.

– A man who was killed while checking on his dogs in Lenoir County, North Carolina.

More than 740,000 people were without power on Sunday morning in the Carolinas, CNN reported.

– Two people who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in Horry County, South Carolina.

Authorities in SC reported one death, saying a woman was killed when her vehicle struck a fallen tree.

Florence was drifting westward over SC, reaching about 30 kilometres southeast of Columbia S.C., at 5 a.m. Sunday, the NHC said.

North Carolina and SC each had modest gains in flood insurance policies, but coverage gaps remain.

The program was used in North Carolina after Hurricane Matthew in October 2016.

Officials in nearby Harnett County urged residents of about 1,100 homes to clear out because the Lower Little River was rising toward record levels. An Associated Press analysis found there are roughly 5.1 million active flood insurance policies in the US, and while many new policies were signed after Hurricane Harvey flooded parts of Texas and Louisiana previous year, not all vulnerable homeowners are covered.

By Sunday afternoon, the Lumber River had reached almost 24 feet.

Corey Walters, the city’s deputy director of public works, said this was a worst-case storm scenario.

Hunt said Matthew caught them by surprise with flooding in the middle of the night. There have been “hundreds of rescues”.

Official predict that when the water reaches 26 feet, the barriers will be overwhelmed. “We just don’t want people to think this is over, because it’s not”.

There is a mandatory evacuation order for the area, officials said.

Residents will need to be off the streets starting at 7 p.m. Sunday until 7 a.m. Monday.

Rivers may fill up even faster now that soil is so storm-slicked and sodden it can not hold more water, said Drew Coleman, a professor of geological sciences at the University of North Carolina.

The storm is now making its way westward at 8 miles per hour (13 kph), setting its sights on Charlotte, North Carolina with sustained winds of 38 miles per hour (61 kph). The storm should move up into West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and parts of New England by Tuesday, dropping 2 to 4 inches of rain there.