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Hurricane Florence's death toll reached 17 on Sunday after the death of a 3-year-old child when a pine tree crashed into a mobile home, officials said.
Police captain Jon Leatherwood said the big tree separated the mobile home at its center. The tragedy occurred around 12:45, reported the Gaston Gazette. The newspaper identified the child as Kade Gill. Leatherwood said the boy's father and mother were at home but not injured.
Gaston County Executive Earl Mathers said the boy's home in Dallas was about 240 miles west of Hurricane Florence, which struck the coast on Friday at Wrightsville Beach.
Officials blamed rain and wind for the storm on the falling tree, county spokesman James McConnell told The Associated Press.
The remains of Florence have beaten Gaston County with heavy rains since Friday night, the Gazette reported. Prior to Gill's death, no serious injuries or deaths had been reported in the county.
Southeast of Gaston in Union County on Sunday night, the authorities did not attempt to save a one-year-old child in a vehicle that was eventually washed away, the Charlotte Observer reported.
The rescue officers saved an adult in the vehicle. WBTV reported that emergency vehicles were leaving the search area before midnight, indicating that they had canceled the search. It was not clear immediately if the search would resume in the morning.
Over the weekend, as Florence was heading inland, flash flood stations were stationed in Virginia and southern West Virginia. The National Weather Service broadcast the watch Monday night in several counties in West Virginia.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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