Florence flooding live coverage: Storm ‘has never been more dangerous than it is right now’

Florence, now a tropical depression, is still a dangerous storm and is expected to dump excessive rainfall on wide areas of North Carolina and South Carolina, causing historic flooding.

Officials also say the storm could kick up a few tornadoes on its trek across the region.

The storm has reached the height of danger, Governor Roy Cooper said in a press conference on Sunday afternoon.

“The storm has never been more dangerous than it is right now,” he said.

The Marines, the Coast Guard, civilian crews and volunteers used helicopters, boats and heavy-duty vehicles Saturday to rescue scores of people trapped by Florence’s shoreline onslaught, even as North Carolina braced for what could be the next stage of the disaster: widespread, catastrophic flooding inland.

There have been at least 10 people confirmed killed in North Carolina as a result of the storm. Three people died in South Carolina.

A day after blowing ashore with 90 mph winds, Florence practically parked itself over land all day long and poured on the rain. With rivers rising toward record levels, thousands of people were ordered evacuated for fear the next few days could bring the most destructive round of flooding in North Carolina history.

Florence was downgraded to a tropical depression on Sunday.