Emergency management authorities in storm-weary North Carolina said Monday local time that 25 people had died since Hurricane Florence struck the US East Coast, bringing the death toll to 31. Six deaths have been confirmed in neighboring South Carolina.
Landing as Category 1 hurricane on Friday morning local time and downgraded as a tropical depression now, Florence continues to wreak havoc with further flooding as well as potential dam failures and landslides.
"This is an epic storm that is still continuing," said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. "This is a monumental disaster for our state."
More than a dozen rivers across North Carolina threatened to rise to critical levels on Monday. "Many roads in our state are still at risk of floods," Cooper said, warning people who have been evacuated not to return home yet.
More than 1,100 North Carolina roads remained closed on Monday, the state's Department of Transportation said. In South Carolina, the authorities reported more than 150 road closures related to high floodwaters on Monday.
Some 460,000 people in North Carolina and 10,000 in South Carolina were without power.
Moody's Analytics has initially estimated the cost of Hurricane Florence's damage at between 17 billion and 22 billion dollars, making it one of the 10 most costly hurricanes in U.S. history.
(with input from agencies)
