2 more deaths linked to Florence, Gov. Cooper's office says

By Alfred Charles, online managing editor

Raleigh, N.C. — Two more deaths have been linked to Hurricane Florence, raising the toll of those whose died from the monster storm that slammed into the North Carolina coast last month to 39, state officials said Tuesday.

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Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said in a written statement that the latest fatalities were linked to storm clean-up, and that the devastation and destruction will be felt by the state for years to come.

“Florence cut a broad path of death and destruction through our state and we will not soon forget this storm or the lives it claimed,” Cooper’s statement said.

According to the governor’s office, the two newest reported deaths include:

• A 69-year-old man in Pender County who died on Sept. 22 after falling from a roof while cleaning storm debris and repairing damage.

News of the deaths came as the North Carolina General Assembly was meeting in special session to consider legislation to help those affected by the storm, which came ashore Sept. 14 as a Category 1 storm before it slowly made its way across the coastline and the southeastern region of the Tar Heel State before moving into South Carolina.

The storm dumped 3 feet of rain in some parts of North Carolina, which experienced the worst of the storm.

Some coastal communities were devastated by the storm’s strong winds and floodwaters that drenched the state.