A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a Pollocksville, N.C., man Monday, plucking him and his small dog from atop a stranded van in Florence’s flood waters, according to photos taken by The Associated Press. Willie Schubert of Pollocksville was shirtless and cradling his dog when the helicopter crew lifted him onto a roof and then into the helicopter, a series of photographs by AP photographer Steve Helber show. The dog’s name: Lucky. U.S. Coast…

Raleigh, N.C. — Map: Videos, images | Shelters, roads by county | Images: Florence’s impact Get help, give help | NC’s worst hurricanes | River flooding forecast Hurricane Florence caused a record amount of rainfall in North Carolina and has created the highest rainfall total for any tropical system to ever strike the East Coast of the United States, according to CNN. The highest totals so far were measured in from Swansboro, which saw more…

CHARLOTTE, North Caroina — A rail company says it’s investigating whether heavy rains from Florence contributed to a train derailment in North Carolina. CSX said in a news release that the derailment happened Sunday night in Anson County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Charlotte. The railroad company said nine locomotives and five railcars ran off the track. The company said none of the cars was carrying hazardous materials. But some of the locomotives…

NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) — Duke Energy’s Brunswick nuclear plant is in a state of emergency after being cut off by floodwaters from Hurricane Florence. Our newsgathering partners at The News & Observer report the 1,200-acre complex is inaccessible to outside personnel after declaring an “unusual event,” the lowest level of nuclear emergency. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Joey Ledford said the plant is stable and poses no threat to public safety. The floodwaters have not entered…

Seven-months-pregnant Emy Chamberlain and her fiance Brenden Wellings were getting ready for the arrival of their first child — a baby girl. But now they’re shifting gears as the water in the Waccamaw River rises from the impacts of Hurricane Florence near their Conway-area home. The young couple moved their new baby supplies to the highest part of their Waccamaw Drive home on stilts, just off U.S. 501. The two, who live with Chamberlain’s mother…

Coast Guard rescue swimmer investigates truck in dangerous flooding Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Jordon Shevlin, a rescue swimmer from Air Station Atlantic City, NJ., gets battered and buffeted to investigate a truck caught in dangerous flooding in the wake of Hurricane Florence, Sept. 16, 2018.

The North Carolina football team will offer its 18-wheel equipment truck to take non-perishable food items and supplies across the state to victims of Hurricane Florence, UNC football coach Larry Fedora said Monday. The university will be accepting donations from the public Tuesday through Friday. On Friday, the truck will deliver the supplies and food to those in need. “We’re willing to do anything that we can to help anybody in the state right now,”…

One last round of drenching rain from Tropical Storm Florence made driving hazardous Monday and forced some local residents to flee rising floodwaters. The morning commute was slow-going for many who found themselves driving through deep water and, in some cases, coming to a complete stop. Videos posted to social media showed water covering heavily traveled roads, including Franklin Street in Chapel Hill and Duke Street in Durham. Many roads in Orange and Durham counties…

NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) — North Carolina officials are making it easy for storm victims to check out contractors before they hire them to clean up or to repair damage from Hurricane Florence. The state licensing board for contractors now has a free mobile app called “NCLBGC Search” that lets anyone search their database of contractors by name, address, license number, or county. “We are very aware that there are going to be numerous folks flooding…