WHAT’S HAPPENING: Rain, floods still in Florence’s forecast

—In the dark: About 400,000 outages, mostly in North Carolina

—Damage estimates: $17 billion to $22 billion in lost economic output and property damage, according to economists at Moody’s Analytics

—Evacuations: Tens of thousands ordered out of communities along North Carolina’s steadily rising rivers, while over 2.4 million people in southern China’s Guangdong province were warned to escape Mangkhut

—To the rescue: Over 1,000 search-and-rescue personnel with 36 helicopters and over 200 boats were working in North Carolina, and the Defence Department assigned 13,500 military personnel to help relief efforts

—Safe now: North Carolina’s governor says 2,600 people and 300 animals have been moved to safety as of mid-day Monday

—Blocked: 1,200 North Carolina roads closed, including 357 primary roads

—Grounded: about 200 U.S. flights cancelled Monday, down sharply from the 3,500 cancelled from Wednesday through Sunday

—Washed out: 2 U.S. government river monitoring gauges stopped transmitting after waters reached 21.5 feet (6.5 metres) and 24.2 feet (7 metres), and more gauges were expected to fail as rivers continued rising

IMAGES FROM THE GROUND

Images captured by Associated Press journalists show flooding caused by Florence in the Carolinas and Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines .

POWERFUL MANGKHUT

About 50 poor miners and their families sought refuge from Typhoon Mangkhut in a chapel, but it appears unlikely that any survivors will be pulled from the shelter that ended up buried by a landslide . Mangkhut weakened from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it moved deeper into southern China on Monday.

FLORENCE’S VICTIMS

A 3-month-old baby boy whose North Carolina mobile home was split by a falling pine tree is among at least 32 deaths linked to Florence. Authorities also have recovered the body of 1-year-old North Carolina boy who was swept from his mother’s arms by floodwaters. And authorities near Richmond, Virginia, said one person died after an apparent tornado touched down there as remnants of Florence headed northward.

WATCHING THE WATER

Florence has taken a deceptive turn: Violent winds that rattled shingles off houses and tore down trees subsided and the pounding rain slowed to a pour, lulling many in its path into believing they’ve already weathered the worst of it. Authorities in Fayetteville, North Carolina, using bullhorns to try to rouse people from their complacency, are finding some storm-weary residents just don’t want to leave in spite of rising risks of devastating flooding.

TOXIC SITES

The Carolinas’ swollen rivers have swamped coal ash dumps and low-lying hog farms . North Carolina environmental regulators say several open-air manure pits at hog farms have failed, spilling pollution.

DAM HAZARDS

Something else to worry about: some dams might not be able to hold up under the strain of the devastating flooding in North Carolina. According to data obtained by The Associated Press, the state has 1,445 dams rated high hazard, and 185 of those structures had conditions of poor or unsatisfactory during recent inspections.

WAFFLE HOUSE INDEX

Some good news: Waffle House is open ! CEO Walt Ehmer says the restaurant chain that’s famous for staying open in spite of natural disasters is sending workers and food into Wilmington, North Carolina, which was cut off by Florence’s floodwaters.

STORM STORIES

When evacuating flooded areas , don’t rely on GPS to get you around high waters. That’s the lesson learned by one North Carolina motorist who wanted to drive to Florida to escape Florence’s devastation but instead got steered into flooding that closed a stretch of Interstate 95. He was left stranded and wondering when his insurance company might be able to send roadside assistance.

DEATH TOLL DEBATES

It could be months before the number of fatalities caused by Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut to be fully known, and it’s common for these kinds of tallies to sharply escalate as officials take account of the deaths indirectly caused by a storm. Disaster experts say it’s often difficult to quickly confirm hurricane-related fatalities because of the vast regions storms can affect.

STILL TALKING ABOUT MARIA

While dealing with Florence in the Carolinas, the Trump administration’s disaster relief chief found himself talking on Sunday news shows about the death toll in Puerto Rico from last year’s Hurricane Maria, which President Donald Trump loudly disputed on Twitter. Brock Long of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said “the numbers are all over the place” and “there’s just too much blame going around.”

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For the latest on Hurricane Florence, visit https://www.apnews.com/tag/Hurricanes

Jennifer Kay, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

WHAT’S HAPPENING: Rain, floods still in Florence’s forecast

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