Thousands of people line up for water and food as rising floodwaters cut off an entire South Carolina city to create an ‘island’ as death toll from storm Florence rises to 17
Storm Florence lashed the south east of the US on Thursday and hit thousands in North Carolina on Sunday
Officials plan to airlift food and water to thousands holed up in the cut off coastal city of Wilmington, NC
So far over 400 people have been rescued from the area, which has no power and has become an island
Residents have been waiting for hours outside stores and restaurants for basic necessities like water
The death toll has now hit 17 after a mother and her baby died in Wilmington and woman was hit by tree
By CHARLIE MOORE
DAILYMAIL.COM
17 September 2018
Thousands have been cut off by rising floodwaters as storm Florence batters North Carolina, bringing the death toll to 17.
Officials plan to airlift food and water to thousands holed up in the coastal city of Wilmington, which has been totally cut off from the rest of the state.
So far more than 400 people have been rescued from the area, which has no power and has been described as an island.
Residents have been waiting for hours outside stores and restaurants for basic necessities like water. Police are guarding the doors, only letting in 10 people at a time to avoid rushes and overcrowding.
Officials have warned evacuated residents to stay away amid fears of further flash flooding over the next two days.
Wilmington has a population of 120,000 but it is not clear how many chose not to leave before the storm hit.
‘Do not come here,’ New Hanover County Commission Chairman Woody White said.
‘Our roads are flooded, there is no access into Wilmington…We want you home, but you can’t come yet.’
Hurricane Florence, downgraded to a tropical depression, claimed more lives on Sunday, with at least 17 people confirmed dead.
Florence is expected to weaken on Monday before re-intensifying as it transitions to an extratropical cyclone Tuesday and Wednesday, the US National Hurricane Center said on Monday.
The tropical depression continues to produce widespread heavy rains over parts of North Carolina and north-eastern South Carolina into western Virginia and flash flooding will continue over portions of the western mid-Atlantic region, it said.
Florence is located about 145 miles (230 km) west-northwest of Greensboro, North Carolina packing maximum sustained winds of 30 miles per hour.
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