Death toll rises to 13 as Florence continues battering US East Coast
Florence-Reuters
As of Saturday, rain water still flooded parts of the North Carolina section of US Route 17, with many houses along the highway submerged in water. The city of Wilmington where the stormed landed remained out of power.
The death toll rose to 13 on Saturday as tropical storm Florence continues slamming into the US East Coast with howling winds and blinding rains.
The storm, which made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Friday morning and weakened to a tropical storm hours after, caused massive damage across the US states of North and South Carolina by felling trees, splintering buildings, trapping hundreds of people, inundating communities and knocking out power.
As of Saturday, rain water still flooded parts of the North Carolina section of US Route 17, with many houses along the highway submerged in water. The city of Wilmington where the stormed landed remained out of power.
The prolonged rain also hampered traffic on Interstate 40, causing inconvenience for people who wish to travel between Wilmington and Raleigh.
By the storm's end, up to 40 inches of rain will have fallen in parts of North Carolina and far northeastern South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The states of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, as well as Washington DC, declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm.
According to the US National Weather Service, there are 5.25 million residents in areas under hurricane warnings or watches, and 4.9 million in places under tropical storm warnings or watches.