Worst flooding from Florence yet to come

WILMINGTON/WILSON:DEADLY storm Florence moved across western North Carolina on Monday, dumping more rain that has nowhere to go except to swell rivers, flood highways and homes, and threaten more lives as it heads toward Virginia and New England.

For the waterlogged Carolinas, “the worst is yet to come” as river levels rise to historic levels, said Zach Taylor, a meteorologist with the US National Weather Service. “The soil is soaked and can’t absorb any more rain so that water has to go somewhere, unfortunately,” he said. “Those rivers are going to start to crest later today and Tuesday and maybe longer.”

Flash floods, landslide warnings and “prolonged significant river flooding” throughout the region will continue for the next few days, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

Wilmington remained cut off by high flood waters early on Monday. Tens of thousands of homes were damaged and at least 17 deaths were reported in North and South Carolina. Rescue teams searched overnight for a 1-year-old boy who was swept away outside Charlotte, North Carolina, after rushing water pushed his mother’s car off the road, the Union County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook. The mother had driven around barricades on a stretch of road that had been closed, the post said.

Florence, which came ashore as a hurricane on Thursday before weakening to a tropical depression by Sunday, is expected to weaken again on Monday before re-intensifying on Tuesday and Wednesday, the US National Hurricane Center said.

It has dumped 100 cm of rain on North Carolina since Thursday, the NWS said. An additional 5-13 cm of rain is expected through Tuesday.