Rivers approached record flood stage and more than 660,000 utility customers were without power Sunday 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 15 Sunday after a truck lost control on a flooded South Carolina road.
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.
"These rainfall amounts will produce catastrophic flash flooding, prolonged significant river flooding and an elevated risk for landslides in western North Carolina and far southwest Virginia," the hurricane center warned.
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 already was 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.
More: Swansboro, North Carolina, got 34 inches of rain - and it's still raining
More: Florence: Here's how you can help
More: Florence: Mayor tells thousands to evacuate or notify next of kind
The mayor of Swansboro, a tourist town of about 3,000 people dubbed the "friendly city by the sea," said the town broke a state record for rain. A few homes were damaged and some businesses near the water suffered minor flooding, John Davis said. Winds also were an issue early on.
"In our historic district we had 10 roofs peel off like the top of cans," he 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 due to flooding and debris. Several rivers were approaching record levels, and officials warned that cresting in some areas won'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. Cape Fear River is forecast to crest in Fayetteville early Tuesday and remain in "major" flood stage into Wednesday, Oravec said. Even by week's end the city could be experiencing minor flooding from the river.
Early Sunday, the storm was centered 20 miles southwest of Columbia, S.C., with winds of 35 mph. Florence was moving west at 8 mph.
The heaviest rains were falling on the north edge of the storm, so North Carolina was getting the worst of it. But South Carolina wasn't entirely spared: Myrtle Beach was hit with more than 7 inches of rain. And almost 60,000 utility customers were without power across the northern part of the state.
South Carolina National Guardsmen and DOT workers labored in heavy rain Sunday to fill giant sandbags with dirt and place them on a 1.5-mile route on the U.S. 501 bypass bridge over the Waccamaw River near Conway. The massive project began Saturday and is set to finish Monday.
South Carolina rivers may begin cresting Monday evening into Tuesday, officials said. First Sgt. Darrell Hudson said the use of the barriers has worked elsewhere.
"We sent a team to Vermont with Sandy when they had a real bad flood up there," he said.
Contributing: Tim Smith, The Greenville (S.C.) News; Sean Rossman, USA TODAY; Joel Burgess, Asheville Citizen Times; The Associated Press
Rivers approached record flood stage and more than 660,000 utility customers were without power Sunday 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 15 Sunday after a truck lost control on a flooded South Carolina road.
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.
"These rainfall amounts will produce catastrophic flash flooding, prolonged significant river flooding and an elevated risk for landslides in western North Carolina and far southwest Virginia," the hurricane center warned.
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 already was 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.
More: Swansboro, North Carolina, got 34 inches of rain - and it's still raining
More: Florence: Here's how you can help
More: Florence: Mayor tells thousands to evacuate or notify next of kind
The mayor of Swansboro, a tourist town of about 3,000 people dubbed the "friendly city by the sea," said the town broke a state record for rain. A few homes were damaged and some businesses near the water suffered minor flooding, John Davis said. Winds also were an issue early on.
"In our historic district we had 10 roofs peel off like the top of cans," he 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 due to flooding and debris. Several rivers were approaching record levels, and officials warned that cresting in some areas won'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. Cape Fear River is forecast to crest in Fayetteville early Tuesday and remain in "major" flood stage into Wednesday, Oravec said. Even by week's end the city could be experiencing minor flooding from the river.
Early Sunday, the storm was centered 20 miles southwest of Columbia, S.C., with winds of 35 mph. Florence was moving west at 8 mph.
The heaviest rains were falling on the north edge of the storm, so North Carolina was getting the worst of it. But South Carolina wasn't entirely spared: Myrtle Beach was hit with more than 7 inches of rain. And almost 60,000 utility customers were without power across the northern part of the state.
South Carolina National Guardsmen and DOT workers labored in heavy rain Sunday to fill giant sandbags with dirt and place them on a 1.5-mile route on the U.S. 501 bypass bridge over the Waccamaw River near Conway. The massive project began Saturday and is set to finish Monday.
South Carolina rivers may begin cresting Monday evening into Tuesday, officials said. First Sgt. Darrell Hudson said the use of the barriers has worked elsewhere.
"We sent a team to Vermont with Sandy when they had a real bad flood up there," he said.
Contributing: Tim Smith, The Greenville (S.C.) News; Sean Rossman, USA TODAY; Joel Burgess, Asheville Citizen Times; The Associated Press
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Florence bringing 'catastrophic' flooding, mudslides deep into North ..."
Post a Comment