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

[14 September 2018 12:02 · Adam Withnall]

 BREAKING: Tornado watch extended until 5pm for parts of North Carolina

[14 September 2018 12:06 · Adam Withnall]

The counties which have been issued with tornado warnings:

[14 September 2018 12:24 · Adam Withnall]

Forecasters say the center of the eye of Hurricane Florence is about to make landfall near Wrightsville, North Carolina. 

It remains a Category 1 hurricane with top sustained winds of 90 mph, but a gust of 112 mph was reported just offshore. 

The barrier island of Emerald Isle is under water, with ocean waves rolling in over a six-foot storm surge and crashing into homes. 

At 7am, the center of the eye was located about 5 miles east of Wilmington, moving west at 6 mph. 

[14 September 2018 12:41 · Adam Withnall]

BREAKING: Hurricane Florence has officially made landfall, near Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina. 

[14 September 2018 12:53 · Adam Withnall]

Some advice for anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in catastrophic flooding.

[14 September 2018 13:02 · Adam Withnall]

Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach North Carolina, the US National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory on Friday.

The category 1 hurricane is located about 5 miles east of Wilmington, North Carolina packing maximum sustained winds of 90 mph, the NHC added.

[14 September 2018 13:12 · Adam Withnall]

Footage of transformers blowing in Wilmington, the North Carolina town directly in the path of Hurricane Florence.

[14 September 2018 13:13 · Adam Withnall]

Understatement of the year from the National Weather Service...

[14 September 2018 13:20 · Adam Withnall]

Donald Trump has tweeted about Hurricane Florence.

[14 September 2018 13:32 · Andrew Buncombe]

Greetings from Washington DC, capital of the country and where Mr Trump is holed up the White House tweeting messages of congratulations to his own government agencies, police and rescue workers. The president typically likes to spend the weekend at one of his golf courses. No official word yet on whether the hurricane will interfere with his plans