Areas hit by Hurricane Matthew brace for floods this week

Parts of the USA’s Southeast coast could face days of flooding in areas pummeled by Hurricane Matthew as a new week begins.

As a weakened Matthew moved out to sea on Sunday, the storm left plenty of danger and uncertainty in its wake. Forecasters were predicting rising water in areas affected by the hurricane, even as they kept an eye on another storm looming in the Atlantic Ocean.

Sections of Interstates 95 and 40 remained closed Sunday, and North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory warned that people living along rivers in the eastern part of the state should be prepared for more flooding.

Several rivers were near or above flood stage, including the Cape Fear River near Burgaw, Tar River at Greenville and Cashie River near Windsor, The Weather Channel reported. The rivers were expected to crest early this week, with a few areas surpassing previous records. The National Weather Service on Sunday issued flood warnings for a 50-mile stretch of the Tar River in northeastern North Carolina.

“This is still an extremely dangerous situation,” McCrory said. “We will not see the rivers peak possibly until Monday and Tuesday. Our models show very, very dangerous conditions as those rivers go over their edges.”

On Sunday, the Lumber River in Lumberton, N.C., was four feet above record level and was forecast to remain there for at least five days.

The rising waters were threatening communities even as Matthew was downgraded on Sunday to a post-tropical cyclone. The storm was responsible for at least 18 deaths in the U.S., nearly half of them in North Carolina.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Sunday said those returning home should listen to state and local officials in order to avoid dangerous flooding over the next 48 hours. The agency warned that floodwater could be charged by downed power lines or could hide dangerous debris. FEMA also said people should avoid driving or walking through moving water.

Authorities in Florence County, S.C., on Sunday said two people died over the weekend in separate flooding incidents, The Greenville News reported. On Saturday, authorities recovered the body of a man from a vehicle that had been swept about 100 yards from a roadway by floodwaters. On Sunday, a dive team recovered the body of a man in a submerged vehicle at a bridge washout.

“Driving on our roadways right now at any time of day is treacherous,” Sheriff Kenney Boone said. “At night it is deadly.” He urged drivers to stay off the roads until workers could clear them of fallen trees and power lines.

“Flash floods are the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States,” FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said. “As people head back home to assess damage it is vital they do not drive through flooded roadways, avoid downed power lines and stay off the roads to let first-responders do their work. Turn around, don’t drown.”

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Sunday lifted evacuation orders in four counties, saying residents in another two may be allowed back on Monday. In counties where the evacuation had not been lifted, Haley warned that “you are going back at your own risk. Be prepared that you could go back and not be let back in.”

Just as Matthew exited, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center were warning that Tropical Storm Nicole, located about 200 miles north of Puerto Rico late Sunday afternoon, was expected to strengthen and move north.

Matthew officially made landfall Saturday morning in McClellanville, S.C., at the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, 40 miles northeast of Charleston, S.C. Officials said the storm’s aftermath was far from over as more than a foot of rain in a few areas flowed into rivers.

More than a million people in South Carolina and North Carolina were without power, and at least four separate sections of Interstate 95 — the main artery linking the East Coast from Florida to Maine — were closed in North Carolina, The Associated Press reported.

Matthew actually spared the USA from the kind of devastation that it inflicted on Haiti, where the storm was responsible for more than 500 deaths.

The storm sideswiped hundreds of miles of U.S. coastline from Florida to the Carolinas, but its eye remained far enough offshore that the coastline damage in many places was relatively modest, consisting mostly of flooded streets, flattened trees and blown-down signs and awnings. By the time the storm hit Charleston, S.C., it was a Category 1 hurricane, but the historic port city still faced a 6-foot storm surge, severe flooding and fallen trees.

A shift of just 20 or 30 miles could have meant widespread coastal devastation, AP reported.

An estimated 2 million people in the Southeast were ordered to evacuate their homes, and property data firm CoreLogic projected that insured losses on home and commercial properties would amount to $4 billion to $6 billion, well below Hurricane Katrina's $40 billion and Superstorm Sandy's $20 billion.

Among the homes devastated by the hurricane: North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest’s house in Raleigh, which was “completely destroyed” when a tree fell on it Saturday night, WRAL-TV reported.

On Sunday, residents of McClellanville, where Hurricane Hugo made landfall in 1989, counted their blessings. Matthew tore down trees and left the town without power, but residents awoke to sunny skies.

"I'm just rolled over tickled," said Ricky Thomas, who found no damage to his home when he returned Sunday.

Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, Tim Smith, The Greenville News; Follow Greg Toppo on Twitter: @gtoppo