Catastrophic flooding from Florence spread across the Carolinas this weekend, with roads to Wilmington cut off by the epic deluge and muddy river water swamping entire neighborhoods miles inland. "The risk to life is rising with the angry waters," Gov. Roy Cooper declared as the storm's death toll continued to climb.
The deadly storm still had abundant rain and top winds around 30 mph (50 kph) early Monday, and forecasters said it was expected to gradually pick up forward speed and complete a big turn toward the Northeast, which is in for as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain.
In some places, the rain stopped after Florence moved on, and the sun peeked through, but North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper urged residents who were evacuated from the hardest-hit areas to stay away because of closed roads and flooding.
"There's too much going on," he told a news conference.