Florence death toll jumps to 31 as flooding wreaks havoc

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Rain-gorged rivers threatened further flooding on the storm-battered US East Coast Monday as the death toll from Hurricane Florence, now a tropical depression, jumped to 31.

Emergency management authorities in North Carolina said an earlier toll of 17 had risen to 25 since Florence made landfall Friday as a Category 1 hurricane, with its aftermath threatening further flooding as well as potential dam failures and landslides.

Six deaths have been confirmed in neighboring South Carolina, with the latest being the driver of a pickup truck who drove into standing water in Lexington County.