Florence’s misery moves inland
Death toll rises to 17 as ‘historic’ storm lingers over Carolinas
Rivers approached record flood stage Sunday, and more than 660,000 utility customers were without power as North Carolina struggled under the crushing fury of Florence, the mighty hurricane diminished to a tropical depression but still pounding the region with unrelenting rain.
The Florence death toll rose to 17 on Sunday.
Florence has stalled over the Carolinas and was forecast to dump up to 10 more inches of rain in some areas, the National Hurricane Center said. Parts of southeastern North Carolina could see up to 40 inches before the rain ends later in the week.
And the damage isn’t confined to the coast – the center said the effects of flooding and a higher risk of landslides could threaten western North Carolina and southwest Virginia.
Some locations will see more than 30
inches of rain before the storm is finished later in the week, National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Oravec said. Swansboro, North Carolina, was already awash in 34 inches of rain by Sunday afternoon.
“This is historic in terms of the amount of rain from one storm in North Carolina,” Oravec said.
Officials from New Hanover County and Wilmington said Sunday that the Saturday night deluge caused severe problems, with tourists in Wilmington cut off from road access Sunday. The major highways into the area, Interstate 40 and U.S. 74, were not accessible, officials said.
State Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon said one of his top priorities was determining how to restore ground access to the area.
“Our roads are flooded,” Woody White, chairman of the county Board of Commissioners, said Sunday at a news conference. “There is no access to Wilmington.”
Trogdon said the state was working with the Department of Defense and National Guard to see if they could get first responders through to Wilmington in high-water vehicles. He also said officials were working on “other contingencies to support Wilmington on the ocean side.”
The mayor of Swansboro, a tourist town of about 3,000, said the seaside town broke a state record for rain.
“In our historic district, we had 10 roofs peel off like the top of cans,” Mayor John Davis said. “But, considering the strength of the storm and how long it has stayed, we did pretty well.”
Sections of two interstates, I-40 and I-95, were shut down because of flooding and debris. Several rivers were approaching record levels, and officials warned that cresting in some areas wouldn’t come until later in the week.
In New Bern, hundreds of people were rescued from their flood-swamped homes. Evidence of Hurricane Florence’s wrath was sprawled across the lawn of the Patty and Philip Urick’s home on the Neuse River, all but destroyed by violent flooding.
Scores of neighbors faced similar damage after the water crested near the tops of their doorways. As water and debris accumulated, front doors caved in, and garage doors ripped apart, sending water into homes and washing out what was inside.
“We figured we were safe here on the second floor,” said Philip Urick, 82. “We also surmised the storm was not going to be near as severe as it was.”
Evacuations were still underway in some places. Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin told people living within a mile of the region’s main river, the Cape Fear, or the nearby Little River that they must get out.
Early Sunday, the storm was centered 40 miles west of Columbia, South Carolina, with winds of 35 mph. Florence was moving west at 10 mph.
Contributing: Tim Smith, Greenville News; Sean Rossman, USA TODAY; Joel Burgess, Asheville Citizen Times; Associated Press