Wilmington cut off by extreme flooding from Florence as more rain pours down

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Rising floodwaters are now the major safety concern here after Florence, formerly a hurricane and now a tropical depression, knocked out power and left debris strewn across homes and streets. Driving through the city is like negotiating a maze, with portions of highways flooded, making the city essentially inaccessible by road from the rest of the state.

Rescues continued Sunday after crews plucked hundreds of people from their inundated homes in New Hanover County through the overnight hours, authorities said.

Most of Wilmington remains without power through the weekend while thousands of residents are stuck at home, hemmed in by downed trees and power lines. Countless homes are damaged but many homeowners who evacuated Wilmington are now unable to get back to see how bad the situation might be.

The local water utility has warned it may have to shut down, potentially leaving homes without drinkable water. Nearly all the businesses in this city of more than 117,000 are empty and closed.

Florence was downgraded to a tropical depression but continued to drench the Carolinas on Sunday, raising the threat for dangerous flash flooding and landslides. The storm has been blamed for at least a dozen deaths.

“Flash flooding and major river flooding will continue over a significant portion of the Carolinas,” the National Hurricane Center said late Sunday morning.

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Here’s the latest on Hurricane Florence:

• Parts of southeastern North Carolina and northeast South Carolina were expected to get an additional 3 to 6 inches of rain, with total accumulations of 30 to 40 inches likely, according to the hurricane center.
• Meanwhile, central and western North Carolina, far northern South Carolina and southwest Virginia were expected to get an additional 5 to 10 inches of rain, with total accumulations of 15 to 20 inches likely, elevating the risk of landslides, the center said.
• As of 9 a.m. Sunday morning, Florence had dropped nearly 24 inches of rain in Wilmington so far, creating a new record of yearly rainfall with more than three months left in the year, according to the National Weather Service’s Eastern Region.

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The storm continued to hit much of North Carolina and northern South Carolina with “widespread heavy rains” on Sunday, according to the hurricane center.

“These rainfall amounts will produce catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged significant river flooding,” the center said.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said floodwaters were still raging across part of the state and “the risk to life is rising with the angry waters.”

“The storm has never been more dangerous than it is right now,” he said, adding that more than 900 people had been rescued from the waters by emergency responders so far.

Statewide, more than 703,184 people were without power statewide as of around 11 a.m. Sunday, according to the North Carolina’s emergency management agency.

And the Cape Fear Power Utility Authority said it was in “critical need” of fuel to keep its water treatment plants running. If the utility does not get the fuel it needs within 48 hours, its customers would be without water and it would not be able to provide water services for public health and safety, according to a statement.

The power authority said it is unable to get fuel because roads into the city are cut off by extreme flooding.

“Now is a good time to begin filling up bathtubs and water jugs as a contingency to a loss of water delivery,” the utility said.

Christopher Ray, a resident of Jacksonville, North Carolina, said he and his wife woke up at 3 a.m. Saturday morning because their chihuahua was barking and found the dog “floating in her cage.” He had to evacuate their home using a dinghy because of the rising floodwaters. His home flooded, destroying some of his property including a smart car, several TVs, laptops and a work trailer, he said.

“It’s going to be a big hit on us, a very big hit,” he said after returning to his home and surveying the damage.

New Bern, North Carolina, Mayor Dana Outlaw told “Meet the Press” on Sunday that officials remained “very concerned” about additional flooding and trees still toppling.

“A lot of the creeks around New Bern are increasing by the hour,” he said.

Most of the deaths occurred in North Carolina, officials said. A woman and her infant were killed when a tree fell on their home in Wilmington; a woman died in Pender County after suffering a medical condition and large trees blocked roads to her home; two people died in Lenoir County; and three were killed in Duplin County in separate incidents when the cars they were in were washed away in high water, authorities said.

In South Carolina, a 61-year-old woman died after her car struck a downed tree on a highway in Union County Friday night, according to South Carolina Highway Patrol Capt. Kelley Hughes.

Two people in Horry County, South Carolina, died of carbon monoxide poisoning, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety tweeted Saturday night, and the department said that the deaths are being blamed on the storm.

One man drowned after a truck he was a passenger in overturned into a ditch that was over flowing with water in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to the Georgetown County Coroner. The driver and another passenger escaped.

Jon Schuppe reported from Wilmington, North Carolina. Daniella Silva reported from New York.