Florence lumbers inland, leaving five dead, communities flooded

WILMINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Tropical storm Florence lumbered inland on Saturday, knocking down trees, flooding rivers, and dumping sheets of rain in the Carolinas where five people have died.

It diminished from hurricane force as it came ashore, but forecasters said the 350-mile-wide storm's slow progress across North and South Carolina could leave much of the region under water in the coming days.

“This storm is relentless and excruciating,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told CNN late on Friday. “There is probably not a county or a person that will not be affected in some way by this very massive and violent storm.” A mother and baby were killed when a tree fell on their home in Wilmington, North Carolina. The child's injured father was taken to hospital. In Pender County, a woman died of a heart attack; paramedics trying to reach her were blocked by debris.

Two people died in Lenoir County. A 78-yearold man was electrocuted attempting to connect extension cords while another man died when he was blown down by high winds while checking on his hunting dogs, a county spokesman said.

In New Bern, North Carolina, the storm surge overwhelmed the town of 30,000 which is located at the confluence of the Neuse and Trent rivers.

Officials in New Bern, which dates to the early 18th century, said more than 100 people were rescued from floods and the downtown was under water by Friday afternoon.

Resident Jay Manning said he and his wife watched with alarm as water filled the street.

We moved all the furniture up in case the water comes in but the water seems to be staying at the edge of the driveway, he said, adding that if the wind picks up and the rain keeps coming, that could change. My wifes in a panic right now.

Dan Eudy said he and his brother were awakened on Thursday night by the sound of a boat ramming against his front porch.

Eudy said his family stayed in their home partly to protect their house. “And we had no belief it would be as significant an event as it was, he said. This is a 500- or 1,000-year event.

HEAVY RAIN Florence was a Category 3 hurricane on the five- step Saffir- Simpson scale with 120-mph winds on Thursday. It was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane before coming ashore near Wrightsville Beach close to Wilmington, North Carolina.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded it to a tropical storm on Friday, but warned it would dump as much as 30 to 40 inches (76102 cm) of rain on the southeastern coast of North Carolina and part of northeastern South Carolina.

About 10 million people could be affected by the storm.

More than 22,600 people were housed in 150 shelters statewide, including schools, churches and Wake Forest Universitys basketball arena.

“This rainfall will produce catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged, significant river flooding,” the hurricane center said.