- Hurricane Florence is tearing through the Carolinas with disastrous flooding and record-setting rainfall.
- “We just don’t want people to think this is over because it’s not. It’s not anywhere,” North Carolina governor Roy Cooper said on Saturday.
- The storm has killed 11 so far, and officials expect the death toll to rise.
Hurricane Florence, now a tropical storm, is tearing through the Carolinas, bringing heavy rainfall and catastrophic flooding.
The storm has already left at least 12 people dead and knocked out power for more than a million residents. As of Saturday evening, Florence was moving west at 2 mph, with winds at a speed of 45 mph.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper warned in a briefing Saturday morning that more people in the state are in danger now than when Florence made landfall there on Friday.
“The rainfall is epic and will continue to be,” Cooper said. “We just don’t want people to think this is over, because it’s not. It’s not anywhere.”
Cooper warned: “Don’t drive through water, no matter how confident you feel or how much you want to get out of the house. Roads are closed in many places and more are closing even as we speak.”
The storm has killed at least 12 people in North Carolina. Authorities expect the death toll to rise in the coming days.
A mother and baby died when a tree crashed into their home, the Wilmington Police Department said on Twitter Friday afternoon. A 78-year-old man was killed while trying to connect extension cords outside in the rain, ABC News reported, citing Lenoir County Emergency Services Director Roger Dail.
Another man was blown away by strong winds while outside checking on his dogs. The man’s family found his body Friday morning, according to Dail.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh, North Carolina, also confirmed Saturday that an 81-year-old man in Wayne County fell and fatally struck his head while packing to evacuate the previous day, according to the Associated Press.
The office also said a husband and wife died in a house fire on Friday in Cumberland County.
President Donald Trump tweeted out condolences to the families of the dead on Saturday, mistakenly saying there were only five deaths after authorities had already raised the toll.
“Five deaths have been recorded thus far with regard to hurricane Florence! Deepest sympathies and warmth go out to the families and friends of the victims. May God be with them!” Trump tweeted.
As reported by Business Insider