FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Days after Hurricane Florence has moved, more than a quarter million people in North Carolina are still without power.
- Flood concerns now in NC post Florence
- Death toll up to 32; More than 250,000 without power
- Storm Season 2018
And with Wilmington plagued by floodwaters, officials are prepared to begin distributing food, water and tarps to residents as yet more people were rescued from submerged inland neighborhoods.
Swift water rescue teams have pulled 2,600 people to safety as almost 3,000 North Carolina National Guard members have been activated.
Major flood stage has been reached on the Cape Fear River in Fayetteville. By Wednesday morning, the river is slated to be up another three feet.
The city of Fayetteville is closely monitoring the river level and officials are concerned about the safety of bridges. Rushing flood waters laden with debris present a risk to the structural stability of the bridges.
So far all the bridges are still open.
Mandatory evacuations are still in place a mile out from the Cape Fear river and that is expected to continue for at least the next two days.
Meanwhile, waste management started a big operation yesterday that continued overnight. They are using out of state waste management contractors to pump out the cities storm sewers - that way the river flood waters can drain more easily.
The death toll from Florence rose to at least 32 in three states, with 25 fatalities in North Carolina, as remnants of the once-powerful Category 4 hurricane — now reduced to a rainy, windy mass of low pressure.