Florence turns deadly, unleashing torrential floods on Carolinas

A woman and her baby were killed when a tree fell on their house and several more stormrelated deaths were reported Friday as Hurricane Florence slammed into the Carolinas, dousing the eastern United States with torrential r ai n.

Four deaths were confirmed by officials as US media reported another.

Hundreds of people needed to be rescued after becoming trapped in their homes by a storm surge of up to 10 feet (three meters) in New Bern, a town of 30,000 in North Carolina at the confluence of the Trent and Neuse rivers.

Florence has been downgraded to a tropical storm by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) but authorities warned the danger was far from over, predicting that "lifethreatening storm surges and strong winds" would persist through the ni ght .

"We are expecting several more days of rain," North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said, describing the amount of rainfall from the hurricane as a "1,000-year event ."

"Into next week our rivers are going to continue to rise and there will be more significant flooding," Cooper said.

There had been three confirmed deaths from the storm and several others were being investigated to determine if they were storm-related, he said.

The mother and her baby were killed in New Hanover County when a tree fell on their house, the governor said, while confirming another death in Lenoir County.

Local authorities reported a death in Pender County when downed trees prevented emergency units from reaching a woman with a medical condition. Local media said she had suffered a heart attack.

US media later said a second man in Lenoir County died after heavy winds knocked him down as he tried to check on his dogs.

"This storm is going to continue its violent grind across our state for days," Cooper said. "The storm is wreaking havoc on our state."

More than 760,000 customers in North Carolina were without power and 21,000 people were being housed in 157 shelters across the state.

The White House said President Donald Trump was to visit hurricane-hit areas next week "once it is determined his travel will not disrupt any rescue or recovery efforts."

"Great job FEMA, First Responders and Law Enforcement - not easy, very dangerous, tremendous talent. America is proud of you," Trump tweeted on Friday, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which responds to disasters in the United States.

- 'WE ARE COMING TO GET YOU' As of 11:00 pm (0300 GMT), maximum sustained winds had weakened to 65 miles (104 kilometers) per hour but the NHC warned residents to be alert for life-threatening storm surges and "catastrophic freshwater flooding."

"Flash flooding will be extreme and flood waters will come up quickly and seemingly out of nowhere," the governor said.

"We're deeply concerned for whole communities which could be wiped away."

Some of the worst flooding was in New Bern, where authorities were enforcing a curfew.

Both the Trent and Neuse rivers overflowed their banks, flooding homes, stores and streets and trapping many people in their houses.