The Latest:
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on the aftermath of Hurricane Florence (all times local):
11:50 a.m.
North Carolina emergency officials say residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Florence will begin moving into hotel rooms next week as a transitional housing program begins.
Emergency Management Director Michael Sprayberry said during a news briefing Saturday that residents who register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be able to begin the process Monday.
The program will be available to residents in nine counties initially and then will be expanded to other counties.
Sprayberry said the state’s eastern counties are continuing to see major flooding, including certain locations along the Black, Lumber, Neuse and Cape Fear rivers.
A FEMA coordinator said about 69,000 people from North Carolina have already registered with FEMA for assistance.
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11:15 a.m.
North Carolina’s governor says “treacherous” floodwaters are still threatening the state more than a week after Hurricane Florence made landfill there.
Gov. Roy Cooper said Saturday that nine of the state’s river gauges are at major flood stage and four others are at moderate flood stage. He urged residents of southeastern North Carolina to stay alert for flood warnings and evacuation orders.
Cooper said the flooding continues to make travel dangerous in hard-hit areas. He urged people to avoid driving east of Interstate 95 and south of US-70.
Cooper said certain areas of Interstates 95 and 40 are still underwater. Emergency officials don’t expect the water on those highways to recede fully for another week or more.
At least 43 people have died since the hurricane slammed into the coast more than a week ago.
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10:50 a.m.
Weather forecasters say Tropical Storm Kirk has formed in the eastern Atlantic and is moving rapidly westward.
In an 11 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Center said Kirk was 450 miles (724 kilometers) south of the Cabo Verde Islands, moving west at 14 mph (22.5 kph) with maximum sustained winds near 40 mph (64 kph). Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward from the center up to 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the northwest.
Forecasters say it currently poses no threats to land.
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12:03 a.m.
A North Carolina town inundated by river water after a levee breached is among the latest towns to feel the life-threatening punch of Hurricane Florence.
Benetta White and David Lloyd slogged through waist-deep water to escape when Cape Fear River water came pouring into their yard late Thursday. They got in a friend’s pickup and were eventually driven out on a military vehicle.
They were among 100 people evacuated with helicopters, boats and high-wheeled military vehicles during a six-hour rescue operation in southeastern North Carolina’s Bladen County that lasted into Friday morning.
Officials in North and South Carolina warn that the flooding danger is far from over, with South Carolina ordering evacuations there as rivers rise. At least 43 people have died since the hurricane slammed into the coast more than a week ago.
