Update 7.55pm: US President Donald Trump has issued a disaster declaration for North Carolina as officials warn the state could experience its most severe flooding ever. In its initial onslaught along the coast, Florence buckled buildings, deluged entire communities and knocked out power to more than 870,000 homes and businesses. The dead included a mother and baby killed when a tree fell on a house in Wilmington, North Carolina. North Carolina Gov Roy Cooper called Florence an “uninvited brute” that could wipe out entire communities as it grinds its way across land. Rescue crews used boats to carry more than 360 people from rising water in the river town of New Bern, North Carolina, while many of their neighbours awaited help.

Source: Irish Examiner September 15, 2018 18:22 UTC