North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper reported another life claimed by Hurricane Florence on Friday, bringing the state total to 32 deaths and the total in the Carolinas and Virginia to 43. A 46-year-old man died when a tree he was cutting in Brunswick County fell on him, Cooper announced Friday evening. Florence is blamed for nine deaths in South Carolina and two in Virginia. North Carolina’s deaths include three children — a 7-month-old in New…

Horry County is seeing “unprecedented flooding” in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, the county’s emergency management leader said Saturday. Local rivers are rising to record levels, and emergency crews are working to manage traffic and plan for a “worst-case scenario,” Randy Webster, director of Horry County Emergency Management, said in a video posted on Facebook on Saturday afternoon. “We do have a game plan,” Webster said. “We do have a worst-case scenario, and that’s what…

By Kathryn Brown, WRAL anchor/reporter Wilmington, N.C. — Last week, Hurricane Florence battered Wilmington with days of high winds and heavy rains. Now, as residents and business owners try to get back on their feet, the flooded Cape Fear River could give the city another punch. The river is expected to crest Saturday evening at 7 feet, about 1½ feet above flood stage. Moderate flooding occurs at 6.7 feet, and New Hanover County officials have…

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WTVD) — On Saturday, the North Carolina Department of Transportation announced three safe alternate routes for public access to Wilmington after multiple road closures from Florence flooding. From the south: Take U.S. 17 From the north: Travel on Interstate 40 East to N.C. 24 East (exit 373) then onto U.S. South From Fayetteville: Take N.C. 87 to U.S. 701 South to N.C. 211 East to U.S. 74 East Additionally, people may use I-40…

Chad Hicks, the town administrator for Caswell Beach, said the small beach town on Oak Island is doing pretty well — at least compared to some of its neighboring towns — in the wake of Hurricane Florence. “If it wasn’t for all the limbs and siding down, it would look almost normal,” he said, estimating around 50 people weathered the storm out there. The golf course on the town’s side of the island, around 30…

UNC-Wilmington basketball teams will begin fall practice at UNC-Chapel Hill as eastern North Carolina continues to feel the effects of Hurricane Florence, the school announced Saturday. The Seahawks will use the Tar Heels’ facilities until their own campus can reopen to students. “It’s been a difficult two weeks for all of our coaches and student-athletes,” Jimmy Bass, UNCW’s athletic director, said in a press release. “We’re very grateful to the North Carolina staff for their…

The Latest on the aftermath of Hurricane Florence (all times local): 12:32 p.m. North Carolina environmental officials say they are monitoring two sites where Florence’s floodwaters have inundated coal ash sites. Michael Regan is secretary of the state Department of Environmental Quality. He said during a news briefing Saturday that the state is using drones to get photos and videos from the site of a dam breach at the L.V. Sutton Power Station in Wilmington…

A week after Hurricane Florence arrived on shore, large swaths of North Carolina remain underwater. Florence is responsible for the deaths of 32 people in North Carolina. The storm also caused flooding that’s submerged roads, homes and businesses, killed thousands of livestock animals and is possibly carrying waste into the state’s rivers. The storm “has deeply wounded our state, wounds that will not heal soon. So many people are still hurting,” Gov. Roy Cooper said…