Counting cost of Florence

HURRICANE: LEAVES TRAIL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION SINCE FRIDAY

Governor warns residents in shelters against returning home too soon.

Rivers and waterways, swollen after Florence’s historic deluge, rose dangerously across the Carolinas yesterday, closing roads, inundating communities, hindering rescue and repair efforts and preventing evacuees from returning home.

Though slow-moving Florence has moved into the US northeast, allowing glimpses of sunlight in the waterlogged state, at least 16 rivers remained at a major flood stage with three others set to crest in the coming days, the state said.

“One thing we know is that sunshine doesn’t necessarily mean safety,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said and warned the 15 000 residents living in shelters against returning home too soon.

More than 1 100 roads were still closed across North Carolina, Cooper said.

Florence, which made landfall on Friday as a Category 1 hurricane before it was downgraded, has already killed at least 33 people, including 26 in North Carolina and six in South Carolina.

One person was killed in Virginia when the storm spawned about 16 tornadoes there on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

President Donald Trump was criticised for his handling of Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico last year, and more recently for disputing the official death toll of 3 000. – Reuters

Picture: Reuters CUT OFF. Passers-by look at a section of washed-out road damaged by flood waters in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, now downgraded to a tropical depression, in Currie, North Carolina.