WILMINGTON: Autho­ri­ties on Saturday warned residents displaced by a killer hurricane against returning home, as storm Florence dumped “epic amounts of rainfall” across the eastern United States, resulting in life-threatening flooding.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told reporters that five deaths have been officially confirmed in his state, with several more under investigation.

Florence made landfall on Friday as a Category 1 hurricane but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, even as it continued to wreak havoc along the East Coast, downing trees and power lines and forcing 20,000 people to flee to shelters.

Cooper had a stark warning to any residents considering returning to their flooded home towns. “Don’t go back until this storm passes and you get the official all clear,” he said.

“Second, know that water is rising fast everywhere, even in places that don’t typically flood. This system is unloading epic amounts of rainfall: in some places, measured in feet, not inches.”

He said residents should “expect flooding and potential landslides tonight and into Monday”, and warned against driving in the water “no matter how confident you feel or how much you want to get out of the house”.

In a separate briefing, Steve Goldstein of the National Oceanic & Atmos­pheric Administration (NOAA) said some areas have already received two feet of rain and could expect up to 20 inches more as the system moved “slowly, nearly stationary” over eastern North Carolina.

“Right now we’ve rescued over 400 people. We still have about 100 that want to be rescued and we have about 1,200 in the shelters,” Mayor Dana Outlaw told CNN. “We have 4,200 damaged homes,” he added, urging residents to not wade out into the streets because of the dangers posed by downed power lines.

More than 800,000 customers in North Carolina were without power and 21,000 people were being housed in 157 shelters across the state.

The White House said President Donald Trump would visit hurricane-hit areas next week “once it is determined his travel will not disrupt any rescue or recovery efforts”. “Great job FEMA, First Responders and Law Enforcement — not easy, very dangerous, tremendous talent. America is proud of you,” Trump tweeted on Friday, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which responds to disasters in the United States.

The military announced on Saturday it was deploying nearly 200 soldiers to assist in storm-related response and recovery efforts, along with 100 trucks and equipment.Hurricane Florence made landfall on Friday in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, after stalking the coastline for days.

About 1.7 million people in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia are under voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders, and millions of others live in areas likely to be affected by the storm.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2018