Hurricane Florence live updates: Death toll reaches eight in Carolinas as danger from flash flooding soars
Officials say the most dangerous part of the storm could be yet to come
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Your support makes all the difference.Eight people, including a mother and her infant child, have died in the Carolinas from the deadly effects of Hurricane Florence.
The powerful storm flattened trees, buckled buildings and knocked out power to nearly 930,000 homes and businesses as it battered the southeast coast of the US.
It made landfall on Friday with a life-threatening storm surge pushing water inland for miles and more than 60 people had to be pulled from a collapsing motel.
Nearly 400 people had to be rescued from their flooded homes in New Bern, North Carolina, after they decided to try and see out the wind and rain.
Governor Roy Cooper called Florence an "uninvited brute" that could wipe out entire communities as it grinds its way across land.
"The fact is this storm is deadly and we know we are days away from an ending," he said.
Florence was downgraded to a tropical storm with winds of 60 mph (95 kph) as it slowly moved west.
The first known deaths related to the storm were a mother and her infant child who were killed when a tree fell on their house in Wilmington, North Carolina.
In Lenoir County a 78-year-old man was electrocuted and a 77-year-old man was found dead after he went outside to check on his dogs.
A woman also died of a suspected heart attack in Pender county. Although it was not directly related to Florence, emergency services were blocked from attending by storm damage. On Saturday, a further three deaths were confirmed. According to Duplin County Sherriff Blake Wallace, two of the deaths happened outside of Kenansville, while the third happened in Kornegay.
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Experts had warned the effects of the hurricane could be devastating.
“This is a horrific nightmare storm from a meteorological perspective,” University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd said. “We’ve just never seen anything like this. This is just a strange bird.”
The Duke Energy company estimated that between 1 million and 3 million homes could be without power in the wake of the hurricane.
Donald Trump issued a stark warning on Twitter on Wednesday, telling Americans to evacuate and not to “play games with” Florence. “It’s a big one, maybe as big as they’ve seen, and tremendous amounts of water,” he added in a video posted to Twitter.
He claimed federal authorities were “fully prepared” for the hurricane, saying: “The storm will come, it will go, we want everybody to be safe. We’re fully prepared, food, medical, everything you can imagine, we are ready.
“But despite that, bad things can happen when you’re talking about a storm this size. It’s called Mother Nature, you never know. But we know, we love you all, we want you safe, get out of the storm’s way, listen to your local representatives.”
It came just days after an official report criticised the US government’s handling of the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, the US territory where some 3,000 people were killed last autumn.
Experts are warning that Florence can still cause severe damage, even after being downgraded to a tropical storm. The biggest threat currently is rainfall, which may exceed 40 inches in some areas, according to the NHC.
"Remember, most of Harvey's damage in the Houston area—the worst rain-induced flood in American history—was as a tropical storm," tweeted University of Minnesota meteorologist Eric Holthaus.
A few quick stats about now-Tropical Storm Florence, per the Associated Press:
- Up to 18 trillion gallons of rain are predicted to fall on seven states over seven days – as much water as there is the entire Chesapeake Bay
- Roughly 15 inches (38 cm) of rain have fallen north of Swansboro, North Carolina, so far
- More than 645,000 people are experiencing power outages, mostly in North Carolina, as of Friday morning
- 12,000 people are in shelters in North Carolina, 6,400 in South Carolina and 400 in Virginia
- $10 to $60bn in economic damages are expected
Most people in the path of Hurricane Florence don't have federal flood insurance, according to CNN. In fact, only about 340,000 of the 7m homes North and South Carolina are covered under the programme, which covers up to $250,000 in damage per structure.
Chuck Watson, an analyst with the disaster research group Enki Research, told the network only 30 per cent of flood damage in the US is insured – something he attributes to the odd system that requires homeowners to buy different policies for different types of damage.
"When you have car insurance, you don't have one policy if you're hit by a Toyota, another if you're hit by a BMW," he said.
↵Rescue crews have saved two kittens stranded in Florence's floods, according to ABC.
Elsewhere, rescue crews pulled 70 people from a hotel in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where parts of the roof were collapsing. The people have been moved to a public safety centre while officials work to find a more permanent location, according to the AP.
This interesting graphic shows how power outages have spread across North Carolina in the last 24 hours. Duke Energy – the leading power provider in the region – says about 640,000 people are currently experiencing outages, and 1 to 3m could lose power by the storm's end.
A 67-year-old has been rescued after trying to row her way out of her neighbourhood in New Bern, North Carolina. Sadie Marie Holt attempted the boat escape after the nearby Neuse River flooded, according to the Associated Press.
"The wind was so hard, the waters were so hard, that trying to get out we got thrown into trailers. We got thrown into mailboxes, houses, trees," Ms Holt said.
Approximately 200 other people were trapped after the river overflowed. A rescue mission is underway.
The Independent is now closing its coverage for the day. Thanks for reading.
The death toll from Hurricane Florence - now downgraded to a tropical storm - has reached five, authorities have confirmed.
A mother and baby were killed when a tree fell on their home in Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina. The child's injured father was taken to hospital.
Two people died in Lenoir County. A 78-year-old 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 Pender County, a woman died of a heart attack.
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.
The storm surge overwhelmed the town of New Bern, North Carolina, which is located at the confluence of the Neuse and Trent rivers.
More than 100 people were rescued from floods as water filled the streets downtown.
Resident Jay Manning said: "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. My wife is 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, This is a 500-year or 1,000-year event."
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