The driver, Richard Walton Robinson, was in a blue Subaru Crosstrek SUV when he drove around sheriff’s office vehicles and into high water.

The rain from the system had moved into southeast Virginia on Tuesday. Along North Carolina's Outer Banks, the storm closed vulnerable coastal highway North Carolina 12 on Ocracoke Island and threatened several homes in Rodanthe, where erosion and rising sea levels have destroyed more than a half-dozen beachfront homes this decade.

Southeast North Carolina grapples with flash flooding and road washouts from what the U.S. National Hurricane Center dubbed Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight

Some parts of southeastern North Carolina received around 23 inches of rain as schools and public offices stayed closed on Tuesday.

On Monday at 11:25 a.m. the National Weather Service issued a flood watch valid from 8 p.m. until Tuesday 8 a.m. The watch is for Gaston, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union and York counties.

Several North Carolina towns saw historic rainfall Monday. One street in particular recorded more rain than the area has likely seen in 1,000 years.

Residents of this North Carolina town describe how an unnamed 'once-in-a-century' storm snuck up on them ::7, 2024:: Carolina Beach, North Carolina:: Duke Hagestrom, The Fudgeboat owner:: "I want to say it kind of snuck up on us.

More people die from floods every year than tornadoes, lightning, or hurricanes, according to the National Weather Service.