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GEORGETOWN, S.C. – The latest on the effects of Hurricane Florence (all local times):
3:45 p.m.
The rain, wind and floods of Florence are already nearly three times more expensive than Hurricane Matthew two years ago in North Carolina.
The State Department of Agriculture said Wednesday that crop and livestock losses were already estimated at more than $ 1.1 billion in North Carolina. The ministry says Matthew's total was $ 400 million.
Nearly $ 1 billion of estimated losses come from line crops.
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said he hoped the losses would be significant because the crops were in progress or just starting. Troxler said last week that he was predicting multi-billion dollar farm losses when the calculations are completed.
Preliminary losses for forestry are $ 70 million and $ 23 million for livestock, poultry and aquaculture. Livestock losses in North Carolina are now estimated at 4.1 million poultry and 5,500 hogs.
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3:25 p.m.
An environmental group is teaming up with state officials to tell locals and tourists in North Carolina that it is not yet possible to swim or wade in coastal waters.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation said on its website on Wednesday that massive amounts of polluted runoff are still pouring into coastal waterways throughout areas of the state affected by heavy rains. hurricane Florence.
According to the federation, contaminated runoff flows into coastal estuaries and the Atlantic Ocean through ditches, yards, parking lots and hundreds of other routes. Coastal Review Online, published by the federation, says beach towns like Pine Knoll Shores and Emerald Isle are asking people to stay away from stagnant water because of contamination and possible infections.
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3:25 p.m.
A university in North Carolina that evacuated students in the run-up to Hurricane Florence announced a new date for the reopening of the campus.
Chancellor Jose Sartarelli of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington said in a statement on Wednesday that employees would be allowed to return on October 1, when classes were originally scheduled to be resumed.
Sartarelli said the school had been informed that some employees who had returned to Wilmington had found significant damage to their homes, or the houses were in complete loss.
The Chancellor also announced that classes will resume for most students on October 8, which means that students will not be allowed to return to their homes until October 6th. Tuesday, the school said that students could return this Saturday.
Sartarelli said that no decision had been taken regarding the cancellation of the autumn holidays and the day of the reading.
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1:35 p.m.
The Waccamaw River appears to be cresting in Conway, South Carolina, just under forecast.
The river spent more than 18 hours at just over 21.1 feet (6.4 meters), or about 6 inches (15 centimeters) below the forecast ridge of Hurricane Florence.
If it does not rise much more, it could avoid potential environmental and transport problems.
The public plant Santee Cooper claims that the river water was still a few inches below a coal ash pond in a closed power plant in Conway.
Transportation officials say the floodwaters of the river remain well above a temporary barrier of sand and plastic on American Highway 501, the main link to Myrtle Beach.
The flood caused by Hurricane Florence is still well above the record levels recorded two years ago after Hurricane Matthew. It is not expected that water will fall below this level until next week.
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1:35 p.m.
A North Carolina attorney accused a woman who hosted more than two dozen dogs and cats during Hurricane Florence and was charged with practicing veterinary medicine without a license.
A press release issued Wednesday by the 8th judicial district indicates that the charges against Tammie Hedges were dropped on Tuesday.
District Attorney Matthew Delbridge said in a statement that, with animal safety assured, dismissing the charges against Hedges would minimize additional distractions and allow the North Carolina Veterinary Council to take appropriate action.
Hedges, the founder of the Clinton N Paws animal rescue service in Crazy, was arrested Friday after 27 dogs and cats were confiscated in a temporary shelter.
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11:50
A sheriff in a North Carolina county, hit hard by Florence, said 400 animals had been rescued from a flooded property and another 300 had been found dead.
Robeson County Sheriff Kenneth Sealey issued a statement that his office had received calls that animals were stranded on a roof in the community of Orrum.
Some animals were fed by boat, and High Guard trucks from the National Guard were used to save the animals on Sunday. The non-profit group Global Canine Rescue also helped.
The sheriff's office said the rescued animals included cats, horses, peacocks, chickens, quails and pigs. Ninety-seven were dogs. The Humane Society is one of the groups that deals with animals.
Sheriff's investigator, Katherine Floyd, said in a brief telephone interview that she was meeting with the prosecutor on Wednesday to discuss possible charges against those responsible.
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11:20
Authorities in South Carolina claim that initial estimates indicate that about 2,000 homes were damaged by the floods caused by Hurricane Florence and its remains.
The director of the Emergency Management Division, Kim Stenson, said on Wednesday that these numbers were quite preliminary because floods were still occurring and could affect hundreds or thousands of additional homes.
The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, was in South Carolina on Wednesday. He urged anyone affected by the floods to contact FEMA as soon as possible to begin the claims process.
According to FEMA, 4,000 people in South Carolina have already registered and have already paid $ 500,000 in claims.
The agency also added Georgetown County to five other people in the state under disaster declarations to receive individual assistance.
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11:20
A community in South Carolina receives good news from the latest flood forecast for Hurricane Florence.
Georgetown County said on its Facebook page that flooding forecasts for the most affected areas of the county have gone from 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters) to 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1). ,2 meters).
Authorities still insist that the floods of Hurricane Matthew in 2016, which have broken records in many areas, are even more important.
Authorities say the flow of the Waccamaw River has slowed, delaying the peak of the flood on Friday. But the county also warned that river level forecasts are continually calculated and could change again.
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9:45
Residents of a flooded North Carolina town are suing a railway company, alleging that it prevented filling a void in a dike.
Several Lumberton residents sued CSX Corp. this week claiming that a lower passage belonging to the company had created a breach in a dike allowing floodwaters to infiltrate after Florence.
The complainants say that the company had been aware of the problem for some time and that the gap had exacerbated the floods during Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
The lawsuit quotes a May 2018 report written by state officials calling for a flood and claiming that planning was underway.
The complainants stated that Lumberton officials were denied CSX's permission to build a temporary sandbag berm at the underpass approaching Florence. They claim that an emergency order from the governor allowed them to build a temporary last minute berm, but that floods broke it.
CSX issued a statement saying it was not commenting on ongoing litigation, but noted that the "extraordinary storm" had devastated Lumberton and other communities because of its floods.
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9 hours
North Carolina reports another death caused by Hurricane Florence and its remains.
The office of the governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, said a 67-year-old man died while cleaning up storm debris in Craven County, and that the medical examiner's office had determined that the death was related to the storm.
Keith Acree, spokesperson for the Emergency Management Branch, said the man died after breaking his neck as he cleaned up on Sept. 18, days after the storm hit the ground. The state is still dealing with the effects of the storm, including fallen trees, debris and floodwaters.
The man's name was not published immediately.
Cooper said that death is the 36th deadly storm for the state.
In several states, at least 47 deaths have been attributed to the storm.
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12:20
Firefighters in Conway say the city has not seen many rescues or problems with unprecedented flooding in the city of South Carolina.
Conway fire chief Le Hendrick explains in part how accurate the flood forecast was. Last week, firefighters circulated with a map warning people that they were going to flood, even if they had never had one before.
Hendrick said Tuesday that firefighters had checked and that these areas had been flooded.
The Waccamaw River in Conway was set to peak at 21.7 feet (6.6 meters) on Wednesday. He surpassed the previous record of 17.9 feet (5.5 meters) set in 2016 by Hurricane Matthew on Friday.
The waterway is not expected to drop below 18 feet until next week. The river overflows at 11 feet (3.4 meters).
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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