Hurricane Florence live updates: Death toll reaches eight in Carolinas as danger from flash flooding soars

Officials say the most dangerous part of the storm could be yet to come

Hurricane Florence flood on North Carolina coast in US

Eight people, including a mother and her infant child, have died in the Carolinas from the deadly effects of Hurricane Florence.

The powerful storm flattened trees, buckled buildings and knocked out power to nearly 930,000 homes and businesses as it battered the southeast coast of the US.

It made landfall on Friday with a life-threatening storm surge pushing water inland for miles and more than 60 people had to be pulled from a collapsing motel.

Nearly 400 people had to be rescued from their flooded homes in New Bern, North Carolina, after they decided to try and see out the wind and rain.

Governor Roy Cooper called Florence an "uninvited brute" that could wipe out entire communities as it grinds its way across land.

"The fact is this storm is deadly and we know we are days away from an ending," he said.

Florence was downgraded to a tropical storm with winds of 60 mph (95 kph) as it slowly moved west.

The first known deaths related to the storm were a mother and her infant child who were killed when a tree fell on their house in Wilmington, North Carolina.

In Lenoir County a 78-year-old man was electrocuted and a 77-year-old man was found dead after he went outside to check on his dogs.

A woman also died of a suspected heart attack in Pender county. Although it was not directly related to Florence, emergency services were blocked from attending by storm damage. On Saturday, a further three deaths were confirmed. According to Duplin County Sherriff Blake Wallace, two of the deaths happened outside of Kenansville, while the third happened in Kornegay.

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Experts had warned the effects of the hurricane could be devastating.

“This is a horrific nightmare storm from a meteorological perspective,” University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd said. “We’ve just never seen anything like this. This is just a strange bird.”

The Duke Energy company estimated that between 1 million and 3 million homes could be without power in the wake of the hurricane.

Donald Trump issued a stark warning on Twitter on Wednesday, telling Americans to evacuate and not to “play games with” Florence. “It’s a big one, maybe as big as they’ve seen, and tremendous amounts of water,” he added in a video posted to Twitter.

He claimed federal authorities were “fully prepared” for the hurricane, saying: “The storm will come, it will go, we want everybody to be safe. We’re fully prepared, food, medical, everything you can imagine, we are ready.

“But despite that, bad things can happen when you’re talking about a storm this size. It’s called Mother Nature, you never know. But we know, we love you all, we want you safe, get out of the storm’s way, listen to your local representatives.”

It came just days after an official report criticised the US government’s handling of the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, the US territory where some 3,000 people were killed last autumn.

Key Points

• Storm makes landfall with winds up to 90 mph
• 400 people rescued from flooded homes in New Bern, North Carolina
• Among the places people have driven to to escape the hurricane - Disney World, Florida
• A number of animals, including dolphins, have been spotted in the storm surges 
• Apple donates $1m to Red Cross to help those affected

[15 September 2018 21:21 · Andrew Buncombe]

The North Carolina Department of Transportation says “almost all of NC will be subject to flooding” as road conditions “deteriorate over the next few days”.

[15 September 2018 21:40 · Andrew Buncombe]

North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon has asked out-of-state travelers to avoid driving through North Carolina, as much of the state is dealing with rising flood waters from Florence, CNN said.

“We could see this for several days,” Mr Trogdon said at a Saturday press conference. “This is what we need to do today to make sure motorists are safe in North Carolina.”

[15 September 2018 22:05 · Andrew Buncombe]

The Internal Revenue Service has said victims of Hurricane Florence will get a grace period before having to file some tax returns and payments. 

The IRS said on Saturday it's offering the relief in parts of North Carolina and other regions designated a disaster area by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the Associated Press.

Upcoming September deadlines for certain individual and business tax filings and payments will be postponed until January 31 next year.

[15 September 2018 22:16 · Andrew Buncombe]

All coastal storm surge warnings have been discontinued as Tropical Florence slowly plods inland, the Associated Press said reported.

The National Hurricane Center says water levels along the Carolinas coastline were gradually receding Saturday afternoon, though some minor coastal flooding was possible through Sunday.