Florence slows, rain may continue in US; dozens of communities devastated

Storm Florence weakened on Sunday as it swept through the Carolinas but dozens of communities are devastated and “epic” amounts of rain could still fall, officials said.

The storm was downgraded to a Tropical Depression as it trudged inland early on Sunday, knocking out power and causing at least eight deaths as flood waters kept rising.

North Carolina officials have reported at least seven storm-related fatalities with unconfirmed reports of a further three deaths. South Carolina authorities reported one death.

“This is still a catastrophic, life threatening storm,” said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Center’s Weather Prediction Center.