Deadly storm Florence drenched North Carolina with more downpours Sunday, cutting off the city of Wilmington, damaging tens of thousands of homes and threatening worse flooding as rivers fill to bursting point.
The death toll rose to at least 15 from Florence, which crashed into the state as a hurricane on Friday, bringing record rainfall.
It had weakened to a tropical depression , but was forecast to drop a further 5 to 10 inches of rain in North Carolina, bringing rainfall totals in some inland areas to 15 to 20 inches and over 30 inches closer to the coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.
"The storm has never been more dangerous than it is right now," Governor Roy Cooper told a news conference. Many rivers "are still rising, and are not expected to crest until later today or tomorrow."
More than 900 people were rescued from rising floodwaters and 15,000 remained in shelters in the state, Cooper said.
South Carolina's governor issued a similar warning, urging anyone in a flood-prone area to evacuate.
At least 10 people have died so far in the storm in North Carolina, including a mother and child killed by a falling tree, state officials said. Five people died in South Carolina, including three in car accidents and two from a generator's carbon monoxide.
