Storm Florence: Disaster in Carolinas as Deaths Rise

US President Donald Trump has declared a disaster in North Carolina where a tropical storm has killed seven amid warnings the worst is far from over.

Florence’s top sustained winds have weakened to 50mph (80km/h), but it is projected to bring further catastrophic flash flooding.

Some towns have already had over 2ft (60cm) of rain, and forecasters warn that totals could hit 3.5ft (1m).

Nearly a million householders have no electricity in the Carolinas.

 On the other side of the world, meanwhile, more than a dozen people have died as Typhoon Mangkhut rips through the Philippines.

Typhoon Mangkhut: 14 killed as storm batters Philippines

Meanwhile, some 14 people have been killed in a massive storm which brought destruction to the northern Philippines, a presidential adviser says.

Typhoon Mangkhut ripped through the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, and is now moving west towards China.

Almost all buildings in the city of Tuguegarao sustained some damage, a government official said, and communications were down in places.

The storm packed winds of 185km/h (115mph).

Four million people were in its path, and thousands were evacuated amid warnings of 6m (20ft) storm surges.

Francis Tolentino, a political adviser to President Rodrigo Duterte, said up to 14 people were killed as a result of the storm.

Two rescuers were killed trying to help people trapped in a landslide. Unverified reports say the body of a young girl was found in the Marikina river, which flows through Manila.

The evacuation centre in the coastal town of Aparri is also said to have been destroyed and phone networks are down.

The typhoon recalls memories of the deadliest storm on record in the Philippines – Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 – which killed more than 7,000. However, preparation and evacuation procedures have been improved since then.

BBC NEWS

R.S