Children among 23 killed by Florence

A city in North Carolina was cut off by the aftermath of Hurricane Florence as the death toll from the storm rose to at least 23.

All roads in and out of Wilmington were swamped. Many of the 120,000 who live there were evacuated last week.

Deaths caused by Florence include a three-month-old baby boy, whose mobile home was crushed by a falling tree, and a one-year-old boy swept away by flood waters. Across North Carolina 500,000 homes and businesses were without power and 15,000 people were in shelters after 34in of rain in four days.

There were also concerns that some of the state’s dams may not hold up to the strain.

The US Defence Department has assigned 13,500 military personnel to help rescue efforts.