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At least 44 people have died since the hurricane hit the coast last week. While the rain has subsided, some rivers continue to rise and officials in North and South Carolina warn that the danger of flooding is far from over.
"The Cape Fear River will be on the ridge again this weekend, as will the Lumber River," the North Carolina Transportation Department said Friday, adding that the Neuse would rise on Monday.
"In addition, new areas flood few warnings, so travel is not recommended south of US 64," the statement said.
While some roads are not flooded, they can have dangerous damage and debris that makes driving or walking dangerous, government officials said.
In South Carolina, emergency officials have issued a stern warning by avoiding roads: "I know we seem redundant, but it should be repeated: turn around, do not be naughty! the state emergency management service tweeted.
Carolina's rivers continue to swell
In North Carolina, flooded rivers have left thousands of evacuees living in shelters and hundreds of roads under water.
The water has declined in some places, but downstream, according to officials, thousands of people could be in danger next week.
A number of South Carolina rivers – Waccamaw, Lynch, Little Pee Dee and Big Pee Dee – are expected to settle east of Interstate 95 this weekend and early next week.
Floods in the Waccamaw River reached nearly 20 feet on Saturday and are expected to reach 22 feet on Tuesday morning. In Conway, South Carolina, residents reported damage to homes that had never been flooded before, authorities said.
Residents have been warned that the area where the Big Pee Dee and Little Pee Dee rivers merge could reach even higher levels of flooding than those observed during Hurricane Matthew.
Resources and state personnel have moved to the Pee Dee area, said Governor Henry McMaster.
In all, 23 of the 46 counties in South Carolina may be affected by the floods, the authorities said.
Environmental dangers threaten
"The water is now coming out of the cooling lake through breaches – one large and several small – at the southern end of the reservoir," the statement said.
He noted that there were two basins of coal ash on the site but said that there was "no visible ash in the cooling lake". A landfill site containing ashes removed from the site was not affected by the cooling lake.
The LV Sutton coal plant was retired in 2013 and now operates as a natural gas plant, explained an earlier statement from Duke Energy.
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Of the 44 deaths in Florence, 32 occurred in North Carolina, nine in South Carolina and three in Virginia, officials said.
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