URL https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-florence/flood-waters-rise-eight-killed-as-florence-dumps-epic-rain-on-carolinas-idUSKCN1LV069

DATE/ AUTHOR 2018-09-16 03:37:19+00:00	AUTHORS: Anna Mehler Paperny, Min Read

H Flood waters rise, eight killed as Florence dumps 'epic' rain on Carolinas

S1 WILSON, N.C. (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Florence dumped “epic” amounts of rain on North and South Carolina as it trudged inland on Saturday, knocking out power and causing at least eight deaths as flood waters that have devastated many communities kept rising.

S2 Florence’s intensity has diminished since it roared ashore along the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast on Friday as a hurricane.
S3 But its slow march over the two states, crawling west at only 3 miles per hour (6 km per hour), is expected to leave large parts of the region deluged in the coming days, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said late Saturday.

S4 “This system is unloading epic amounts of rainfall, in some places measured in feet and not inches,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told a news briefing.
S5 His state has already endured record rainfall, with much more forecast to come.
S6 Rivers will continue to rise days after the rain has stopped, he said.

S7 “This is a hurricane event followed by a flood event,” said South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster.

S8 With flood waters advancing rapidly in many communities, around 50 stranded people had been airlifted out by helicopter in North Carolina, said Petty Officer Michael Himes of the U.S. Coast Guard.
S9 More than 26,000 hunkered down in shelters.

S10 Numerous roads were closed, and authorities warned of the risk of landslides, tornadoes and flash floods, with dams and bridges in peril as rivers and creeks swelled.
S11 As of Saturday, about 676,000 homes and businesses were without power in North Carolina, along with 119,000 in South Carolina.

S12 North Carolina officials said there had been at least seven storm-related fatalities in the state, with unconfirmed reports of a further three deaths.

S13 South Carolina authorities reported one death.

S14 The White House said President Donald Trump approved making federal funding available in some affected counties.

S15 Trump, who plans a visit to the region next week, tweeted his “deepest sympathies and warmth” to the families and friends of those who had lost their lives.

S16 (GRAPHIC: Hurricane Florence to pummel U.S. Southeast for days - tmsnrt.rs/2oZFKSb)

S17 WORST YET TO COME

S18 At 2300 EDT (0300 GMT), the NHC said Florence had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 km), and was slowly drifting westward over South Carolina.

S19 The center said the storm would dump as much as 40 inches (102 cm) of rain along coastal areas of the Carolinas, as well as up to 10 inches in southwestern Virginia.

S20 During a driving rain, Maggie Belgie of The Cajun Navy, carries a child evacuating a flooding trailer community during Hurricane Florence in Lumberton, North Carolina, U.S. September 15, 2018.
S21 REUTERS/Randall Hill

S22 In Fayetteville, a North Carolina city of about 210,000 people about 90 miles inland, authorities told thousands of residents near the Cape Fear River and Little River to get out of their homes by Sunday afternoon because of the flood risk.

S23 “If you are refusing to leave during this mandatory evacuation, you need to do things like notify your legal next of kin because the loss of life is very, very possible,” Mayor Mitch Colvin said at a news conference.

S24 “The worst is yet to come,” he added.

S25 The storm made landfall on Friday near Wilmington, a city of about 120,000 squeezed between North Carolina’s Atlantic coastline and the Cape Fear River.

S26 On Saturday, its streets were strewn with downed tree limbs and carpeted with leaves and other debris.
S27 Electricity remained out for much of the city, known for its historic mansions, with power lines lying across roads like wet strands of spaghetti.

S28 Near the Sutton Power Plant in Wilmington, coal ash leaked from a Duke Energy landfill.
S29 The site lost enough material to fill around two-thirds of an Olympic-sized pool, the company said in a statement, adding that it did not believe the incident posed a risk to health or the environment.

S30 Officials had warned before the storm that the rains could risk tainting waterways with murky coal ash and toxic hog waste.

S31 Florence has already set a North Carolina record for rainfall totals, exceeding that of Hurricane Floyd, which struck in 1999 and caused 56 deaths.
S32 Floyd produced 24 inches of rain in some parts of the state, while Florence has already dumped about 30 inches in areas around Swansboro.

S33 Slideshow (20 Images)

S34 In New Bern, about 90 miles northeast of Wilmington at the confluence of two rivers, Florence overwhelmed the town of 30,000 and left the downtown area under water.
S35 Some area residents described a harrowing retreat as the storm hit.

S36 “It was pitch black and I was just scared out of my mind,” said Tracy Singleton, who with her family later drove through torrential rain and high winds from her home near New Bern.

S37 South Carolina authorities said law enforcement officers were guarding against looting in evacuated areas, while Wilmington set a curfew on Saturday evening in response to looting in one area.

S38 As the United States dealt with Florence, a strong typhoon tore across the northern tip of the Philippines, wrecking homes and triggering landslides before heading toward Hong Kong and China.

