Wilmington, N.C. — Hundreds of people waited in long lines for water and other essentials Tuesday in Wilmington, still mostly cut off by high water days after Hurricane Florence unleashed epic floods, and North Carolina’s governor pleaded with more than 10,000 evacuees around the state not to return home yet.
The death toll rose to at least 35 in three states, with 27 fatalities in North Carolina, as Florence’s remnants went in two directions: Water flowed downstream toward the Carolina coast, and storms moved through the Northeast, where flash floods hit New Hampshire and New York state .
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper warned that the flooding set off by as much as 3 feet of rain from Florence is far from over and will get worse in places.
“I know for many people this feels like a nightmare that just won’t end,” he said.
Addressing roughly 10,000 people who remain in shelters and “countless more” staying elsewhere, Cooper urged residents to stay put for now, particularly those from the hardest-hit coastal counties that include Wilmington, near where Florence blew ashore on Friday.
Roads remain treacherous, he said, and some are still being closed for the first time as rivers swelled by torrential rains inland drain toward the Atlantic.
[Related: Hurricane Florence power outages drop well below 400,000, says Energy Department]
Hurricane Florence
Bob Richling carries Iris Darden, 84, out of her flooded home as her daughter-in-law, Pam Darden, gathers her belongings in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in Spring Lake, N.C.
(AP Photo/David Goldman)
Hurricane Florence
Flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence overtakes the town of Pollocksville, N.C.
(Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP)
Hurricane Florence
Floodwater from Hurricane Florence threatens homes in Dillon, S.C.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Hurricane Florence
The Lumber River overflows onto a stretch Interstate 95 in Lumberton, N.C. following flooding from Hurricane Florence.
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Hurricane Florence
A truck drives through floodwaters after Hurricane Florence struck the Carolinas.
(AP Photo/Sean Rayford)
Hurricane Florence
Justin Humphrey, 24, hugs his mother Michelle Paddock, 45, while removing possessions from her flooded home.
(Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP)
Hurricane Florence
Michelle Haddock reacts while removing possessions from her flooded home in Trenton, N.C.
(Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP)
Hurricane Florence
Kenny Babb gathers items that floated out of his garage, seen in the background, as the Little River continues to rise in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in Linden, N.C.
(AP Photo/David Goldman)
Hurricane Florence
Kenny Babb retrieves a paddle that floated away on his flooded property as the Little River continues to rise in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in Linden, N.C.
(AP Photo/David Goldman)
Hurricane Florence
People use a road as a boat ramp after Hurricane Florence struck the Carolinas.
(AP Photo/Sean Rayford)
Hurricane Florence
Pearl, a Great Pyrenees that was one of the animals rescued from an animal shelter in Carteret County, N.C., looks out from her cage in the Holshouser Building on the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C.
(AP Photo/Chris Seward)
Hurricane Florence
Crush & Grind owners Brett Gurkin, left, and Nadine Antonelli look into their business along the Carolina Beach Boardwalk in Carolina Beach, N.C.
(Matt Born/The Star-News via AP)
Hurricane Florence
A resident sits on a cot at an evacuation shelter ahead of Hurricane Florence at the Southeast Raleigh High School in Raleigh, N.C.
(Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg)
Hurricane Florence
A gas station stands damaged during Tropical Storm Florence near Topsail, N.C.
(Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg)
Hurricane Florence
A man tries to get his dog out of a flooded neighborhood in Lumberton, N.C., in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
Hurricane Florence
A resident surveys a road inundated by water in Lumberton, N.C.
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Hurricane Florence
Mary and Phil Pongonis look at the damaged roadway from Hurricane Florence in Boiling Spring Lakes, N.C.
(Ken Blevins/The Star-News via AP)
Hurricane Florence
Floodwater from Cross Creek covers North Cool Spring Street on the edge of downtown Fayetteville, N.C.
(Paul Woolverton /The Fayetteville Observer via AP)
Hurricane Florence
A member of a private critical crisis search and rescue team holds a stop sign as he wades through floodwaters after Hurricane Florence hit in Carolina Beach, N.C.
(Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg)
Hurricane Florence
Regina Matthews, right, and a man and his child walk across a flooded Elliott Bridge Road in Linden, N.C.
(Andrew Craft/The Fayetteville Observer via AP)
