North Carolina urges evacuations before flooding from Hurricane Matthew

The death toll from flooding in North Carolina continues to climb in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

When Hurricane Matthew dumped torrential rains on North Carolina, thousands of people found themselves suddenly trapped in homes and cars.

The state transportation department said in a statement Tuesday night that officials are monitoring river levels and road conditions across the northeastern corner of the state. Flooding has killed up to 5 million poultry birds, majority chickens, in a blow to the local economy, said North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Donald van der Vaart. “It is a surreal experience”.

The storm hurt agriculture and the poultry industry, too, with more than 100,000 chickens killed by flooding in Wayne County, said Kevin Johnson, county extension director.

In Greenville, a city of 90,000, officials warned that the Tar River would overwhelm every bridge in the county, splitting it in half before the river crests late on Wednesday. The rising rivers include the Tar, Cape Fear, Lumber and Neuse. Police officers were stationed at the edge of the evacuation zone to monitor who came and went.

Approximately 200 people who live near the dam were ordered to evacuate the area and were waiting on word as to when they might be allowed back into their homes.

The U.N. envoy for Haiti says the impoverished Caribbean nation is facing “a humanitarian tragedy and an acute emergency situation” with 1.4 million people needing immediate help.

A baby was abandoned at a grocery store Wednesday, according to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

Flores said she and her husband do not have flood insurance and lack the savings to buy a new home if their trailer is flooded. Federal Disaster has been declared in 31 counties there so far.

Mist rises off the water as a flooded building is pictured after Hurricane Matthew passes in Lumberton, North Carolina, Oct. 11, 2016.

Peanuts, soybeans, and cotton are close to harvest, but are threatened by flooded farmland in eastern counties.

Matthew killed more than 500 people in Haiti last week, plowing into the desperately poor country at 145 miles per hour.

She said the services in McDowell will not be affected with personnel in eastern NC, and at this time no more fulltime staff is being deployed.

Dalesio reported from Lumberton. He told NPR’s Here and Now the destruction at his farm is some of the worst his family has seen in Halifax County.

“We’ve had all sorts of storms before and never had any problems”, he said.

Emergency officials in North Carolina say at least 19 people have died because of Hurricane Matthew. State officials are now urging residents to prepare for potential flooding from the Waccamaw and Little Pee Dee rivers.

Of the 27 deaths blamed on Matthew nationwide, 17 are in North Carolina, Gov.

The governor also asked people not to ignore evacuation orders, saying it was “unacceptable” that about 50 or 60 people were resisting demands that they leave a part of Moore County where a dam was at risk of failing.

“If you do not get out, you will pay for issues (encountered) to rescue you”, said McCrory. Evacuations are also in place in several other counties. Public records show state inspectors gave it a rating of “poor” on its last inspection in 2013.

Analytics company CoreLogic estimates insurance damages from the storm could reach $4 to $6 billion, though total costs from Matthew will likely be much higher.