Wilmington cut off

Carolinas continue to be hammered by “epic storm.”

Storm-weary residents of North Carolina struggled Monday to loosen the grip of Florence, the lingering killer that has closed more than 100 roads, cut off power to almost 500,000 homes and businesses and essentially cut off the city of Wilmington from the world.

At least 32 people in the Carolinas have died in the storm’s wreckage, including a 1-year-old boy ripped from his mother’s arms by the raging waters of a flooded creek.

“This is an epic storm that is still continuing,” Gov. Roy Cooper said. “The rivers are still rising. This is a monumental disaster for North Carolina.”

Wilmington, a coastal city of

120,000, has been deluged by 2 feet of rain since Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Most traffic lights were out and homes dark. Flooding could get worse – the Cape Fear River was forecast to crest Tuesday.

Monday, 20 high-water trucks from Fort Bragg snaked through the city’s closed roads, packed with enough food and water for 60,000 people for four days, said Woody White, chairman of the board of commissioners in New Hanover County. Little other traffic could get in or out.

Still, White sounded a positive note. “Things are getting better slowly, and we thank God for that,” White said.

Rain totals were historic. Elizabethtown, 50 miles to the northwest, rang up 36 inches of rain. Swansboro saw

34 inches; Gurganus, 50 miles north of Wilmington, also exceeded 30 inches.

The tragedies were widespread. Almost 200 miles to the west of Wilmington, the Union County Sheriff ’s Office said swift water rescue teams recovered the body of 1-year-old Kaiden Lee-Welch on Monday. The boy was swept away from his mother after a flooded creek overwhelmed their car Sunday.

Flash flooding was a concern across much of North Carolina, northern South Carolina and parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and into southern New England.

Dams and levees in areas pelted by Florence showed signs of distress as rivers overran their banks.

In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster warned it would be days until the cresting of rivers in the most worrisome area along the state’s border with North Carolina.

“Don’t drive around barricades or into standing water,” he said. “Roads are closed for your safety. Don’t unnecessarily put yourself in harm’s way.”