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Florence by the Numbers: Storm Surge, Rainfall and More

It was downgraded Sunday morning to a tropical depression

How do you measure a disaster like Florence? In sum, the storm is turning out to be every bit as devastating as forecasters expected, with trillions of gallons of rain still in the forecast, thousands of people seeking shelter, hundreds of thousands of power outages and more than a dozen of deaths. The economic toll remains to be tallied.

Storm deaths: At least 16 people have died.

Heavy rains: Up to 18 trillion gallons (68 trillion liters) falling on seven states over seven days, as much water as there is the entire Chesapeake Bay.

So far: Already, more than 2 feet (60 centimeters) of rain had fallen in places, and forecasters were saying there could be an additional 1½ feet (45 centimeters) before Sunday was out. In Swansboro, North Carolina, nearly 34 inches of rain had fallen by Sunday afternoon and 14 other places in North Carolina had at least 20 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Another 16 locations in North and Carolina had at least 10 inches. 

More than 23 inches has fallen in Wilmington, bringing the rainfall total of 2018 in the city to nearly 87 inches. That smashed last year's total of 83 inches, and there are still three months left in 2018.

In the dark: 450,000 outages across the Carolinas, as of Sunday. As the storm hit, there were a total of 1.3 million outages.

Protected: About 20,000 people in shelters in North Carolina, 6,400 in South Carolina and 400 in Virginia.

Grounded: More than 2,400 flights canceled.

Roads Closed: 30 roads in New Bern, North Carolina remained closed. And a 16-mile stretch of Interstate 95 was shut down in North Carolina due to flooding, posing a problem for people still trying to evacuate or those attempting to bring supplies into the state.

Potential losses: Estimated $10 billion to $60 billion in economic damages.

Populated coastline: 11 million Americans live in areas that had been under storm watches and warnings

Rescued: More than 400 people needed help in high waters in New Bern and Jacksonville, North Carolina. Over in Pender County, officials said Sunday afternoon that there had been 300 water rescues in the last 12 hours.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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