Florence remnants bring more misery
THE remnants of deadly Hurricane Florence brought more misery to the waterlogged Carolinas yesterday with officials warning the worst is yet to come, as heavy rain persisted and swollen rivers posed a growing threat.
Florence was a tropical depression yesterday with maximum sustained winds of 45kph as it headed through Virginia and toward New England.
With the rain and winds headed north, some residents in North and South Carolina started to return to their homes as the sun peeked through the clouds briefly for the first time in days.
Tens of thousands of houses have been damaged, but for many parts of the 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, adding that the rivers were due to crest yesterday.
Flash floods, landslide warnings and “prolonged significant river flooding” throughout the region will continue for the next few days, the National Weather Service said. Flash flood watches extended all the way to Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York and southern New England.
At least 17 deaths were reported in North and South Carolina. Rescue teams searched overnight for a 1-year-old boy 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.
Florence was set to weaken again yesterday.