US: After killing 30 in the Bahamas, Hurricane Dorian ravages the Carolinas

The howling west flank of Hurricane Dorian soaked the Carolinas on Thursday, flooding coastal towns, downing trees and whipping up occasional tornadoes a couple of days after reducing parts of the Bahamas to rubble.

Death toll from Hurricane Dorian has risen to 30, confirmed Bahama's Prime Minister, Hubert Minnis, to news agencies today.

In low-lying parts of the historic city of Charleston, South Carolina, floodwaters rose to a foot (30 cm) or more. John Rivers, 74, and his three children were among the few to be seen in the streets on Thursday morning as one of the largest Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded drew closer. They cleared drains of branches, leaves and debris, using a shovel, a rake and their bare hands. 

"We're giving the water somewhere to go," Rivers said, sheltering temporarily from the driving rain and gusts of wind under a covered walkway. His daughter Caroline, 12, pulled off her rubber boots one at a time, emptying a stream of water from each. "I see this as a good life lesson for my kids," Rivers said.

Officials said on Thursday afternoon that more than 7 inches (18 cm) of rain had fallen in parts of Charleston.

Dorian's eye was about 30 miles (48 km) south of Cape Fear, North Carolina, on Thursday evening, with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (160 kph), the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Centre said in its 8 PM advisory.

The centre of the hurricane was forecast to move near or over the coast of North Carolina on Thursday night and Friday, it said.

Life-threatening storm surges and dangerous winds remained a threat for much of the coast of North Carolina and Virginia, it said.

Governors in the region declared states of emergency, closed schools, opened shelters, readied national guard troops and implored residents to take warnings seriously, as fresh images of the devastation wrought by the storm in the Bahamas earlier this week circulated in the media.

At least 70,000 Bahamians needed immediate humanitarian relief after Dorian became the most damaging storm ever to hit the island nation.

In the Carolinas alone, more than 900,000 people had been ordered to evacuate their homes. It was unclear how many did so.

In Kill Devil Hills, in North Carolina's Outer Banks, Mark Jennings decided to ignore the order, lining his garage door with sandbags and boarding up his home with plywood.

The retired firefighter planned to stay put with his wife and two dogs, saying: "We are ready to go. If something happens, we can still get out of here."

Dorian whipped up at least three tornadoes in the region, officials said. One in North Carolina damaged scores of trailers at a campground in Emerald Isle, but no one was injured, North Carolina's News & Observer reported.

At least four storm-related deaths in the United States have been reported. Three people died in Orange County, Florida, during storm preparations or evacuation, according to the Orange County mayor's office. In North Carolina, an 85-year-old man fell off a ladder while barricading his home for Dorian, the governor said.

More than 210,000 homes and businesses were without power in South Carolina and Georgia early on Thursday, according to local electric companies.