RALEIGH, N.C. In a final lashing Monday, the sprawling storm Florence triggered tornadoes, flooded communities and left hundreds of roads submerged as it crawled northward out of North Carolina.
There were 25 known deaths from the storm, 19 of them in North Carolina.
One of them was in Union County, where emergency workers Monday found the body of Kaiden Lee-Welch, a year-old boy swept away in rushing water Sunday after his mothers car became trapped in flooding. She was able to free him from a car seat but lost her grip on him in the torrent.
Across hundreds of miles, major highways, streets and back roads were under water, making interstate travel a daunting challenge and impossible in the Lumberton, Wilmington and Jacksonville areas. Wilmington remained an island cut off by flooded streets that prevented most land access.
To the south, Duke Energys Brunswick nuclear plant workers had limited access to relieve those who have been on the site for days, which prompted a required state of emergency declaration. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the twin-reactor plant posed no threat to public safety.
Charlotte-based Duke shut down the two reactors ahead of the storm when Florence was a Category 4 hurricane. Federal law requires nuclear operators to shut down reactors when sustained wind speeds are at 74 mph or higher.
Across North Carolina, 49 of the states 115 school districts were closed Monday with 23 opening after a delay, according to the state Department of Public Instruction. Of the 185 charter schools, 71 were closed Monday and six were had delayed openings.
At least 1.2 million of North Carolinas 1.5 million public school students have missed some school because of the storm, according to the department.
But there were some signs Monday of the region returning to normal. The Wake County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro school systems announced that classes would resume today. The Durham and Orange County school systems reopened Monday.
Elsewhere Monday, though, nerves remained on edge, as the day began with the National Weather Service issuing tornado warnings throughout the central part of the state, including in Durham County and eastern Orange County, at 7:30 a.m.
A confirmed tornado was reported over Elm City, about 8 miles southwest of Rocky Mount, about 7 a.m. The weather service said Wilson County emergency officials reported trees and power lines down and some damaged buildings in the Elm City area.
In Orange County, about seven people in Camelot Village near Bolin Creek voluntarily left their homes about 12:30 a.m. Monday after firefighters visited the community and warned of the rising creek water, said Ran Northam, a Chapel Hill police spokesman. While some at Camelot Village left late last week, Northam said, it appeared they returned when they thought the threat had passed.
The Eno River overflowed its banks in Durham, causing significant flooding. Go Durham buses were enlisted to transport evacuees to the county health and human services building.
Shortly after noon, the Durham Fire Department, Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department, and Durham County Emergency Management began evacuating homes in the Old Farm neighborhood in North Durham.
Chatham County reported that numerous roads were impassable because of flooding Monday morning.
