hello, you are in the cnn newsroom. i'm ana cabrera in new york. the disaster from hurricane florence is most likely only beginning. damage from the wind is over, cleanup will take weeks or longer. but more urgently right now, floodwaters are rising. emergency officials are warning people in parts of north carolina to get to higher ground or they are risking their lives. the flood threat is already proving deadly. in just the last hour the death toll from the storm went up. it now stands at eight. the latest victims of florence are two people caught in flash flooding in fast moving water just north of wilmington, north carolina. again, eight people now dead from this storm. and forecasters say conditions will continue to worsen as long as this massive weather system just sits and dumps rain, refusing to break apart or to move faster. cnn teams are in place where the water is rising and where people are being told to take these floodwaters seriously. cnn's martin savidge joins us from wilmington, north carolina. martin, officials are using the strongest terms to convince people who are near livers and low-lying areas to get themselves to a safer place. >> reporter: that's true, ana. it's not just that you have to be near a body of water. many people think, i haven't got a river or a lake near me. this water can materialize out of nowhere, and especially in the western part of north carolina, where it's quite mountainous. then you get it racing down the sides of those hills and those mountains there. in fact the governor said they fear there will be land slides that will begin starting tonight. let's now go to scott mclean with a take a look at garden city beach, with the threat of flooding there. scott? >> reporter: martin, we're starting to see some flooding here in garden city beach where i am. you can see two blocks down where that truck is going through, and just a block off of the beach. the flooding we're seeing here is partially caused by the rain. they have seven inches of rain so far, they're expecting to get five more before it's said and done. this is partially caused by the tides and the storm surge that has come in. so about three hours ago, a little less than that, there was high tide here. that means peak storm surge as well. the reason why that storm surge didn't happen earlier when florence was coming in, martin, is because initially the winds were pushing offshore creating a negative storm surge, creating a vacuum effect, so they're a day delayed. what we're seeing right now is related to that, because actually, if we walk over here really briefly, you can see just between those two buildings. that's actually an inlet. and so the water is actually being pushed up the inlet from the atlantic ocean and ending up right here where we are. so you can see over here that there's a gentleman checking into his house right now. i just spoke to him a moment ago. he's here for the first time after he evacuated from this storm, trying to see if there's any water. hopefully that is not the case. there's also some water that got up close to this church. not clear if there's any inside. obviously they're hoping there isn't. but the reality for a lot of people inland, martin, as you point out, look, the storm, the wind, that came early. the worst might be yet to come, because it will take a couple of days for some of those rivers and streams and creeks to actually crest. some people may be returning home and find a few days later they're underwater. >> reporter: scott mclean, that is true. the governor of north carolina had been warning people that if you are evacuated, stay where you are, do not try to return, even though it may appear that the winds have subsided, because the danger is still very present. i wou i want to take you to north carolina. polo sandoval, you're in an area that is notorious for flooding, an area people are very worried about now, right, polo? >> reporter: that's right, martin. the rain continues to fall here in lumberton. the rainwater continues to flow into the river. those are two reasons why city officials have been going door to door. we've been with them as they're pleading with residents who are not in shelters, who are still near the river, to get out. that river is closing. i'll take you back two years ago when hurricane matthew swept through the region. the river here crested at 23.9 feet. the current forecast right now is calling for it to reach about 25 feet. back then, the infrastructure about this city was crippled because of floodwaters, many people lost their homes as well. you can imagine that extra foot will mean more people, if that happens, have the potential to lose their belongings, lose their homes. officials want to keep them from losing their lives because this is a very serious situation that authorities are stressing to the public. something that is concerning to officials, the mayor pro tem on this very location told me earlier today that he has gone to these shelters and has seen many people noticing that the winds have died down and choosing to go back home. he is asking them to remain in place and telling them, and they cannot say this loud and hard enough, martin, if you were affected by the floods in 2016 and you're in lumberton, do not go home, you should not be home. also if you were close to those areas as well. right now we continue to monitor the water. i'll leave you with this, earlier this morning we were standing 30 feet away from where i am. that was the water line. you can see it's slowly making its way up this road, and not far from where i'm standing, you'll find homes and businesses. so we will see if this flooding happens here in this part of south carolina. highways, major thoroughfares already being closed at this hour, martin. >> reporter: polo sandoval, thank you very much, in lumberton, north carolina. there are so many places bracing for the floodwaters that they know will come, and there are so many that are coming. volunteers, many of them, who are trying to assist. included in that are many volunteers that were born out of the tragedy in louisiana, i'm talking about the cajun navy. they're now playing a critical role in the aftermath of hurricane florence. taylor [ inaudible ]. >> we're with the american cajun navy. [ inaudible ] hello? >> reporter: yes, sir, go ahead, tell me what you're saying. >> can you hear me? right now we're seeing a lot of lane closures. the water is rising and a lot of places are turning into islands. >> reporter: so your people are out and making rescues. how many rescues have you been able to carry out today, and how difficult are the conditions for you to work? >> uh, it's different. i'm from houston, harvey was in my own backyard. we were in suburban neighborhoods. this is kind of a different animal. you have a katrina-style surge that came in with harvey-style rains, and it's creating a bad situation. >> reporter: how does your organization find out about the people who are in trouble? how are you notified and how do you vector in to find them? >> they send us a message to our page, it's america's cajun navy on facebook. we'll send it to your dispatch, and our dispatchers will prioritize it, make sure the caller is still in need, and they'll dispatch it out to the boats. >> reporter: are you working in coordination with the local authorities and with the national guard or do you all operate separately on your own? >> oh, no, we have full cooperation with the authorities. they're actually one of our biggest assets. when we pulled in, i believe thursday night, we got some sleep in fayetteville. i've been up since tuesday night. we got a call that one town was taking on water with nine-foot swells, so we made the three-hour drive through the storm. our whole time on the phone with the mayor, with the police chiefs, sheriffs, fire chiefs. and when we pulled in, they said, look, you have our assets, we just need your know-how. we got on the boat with me, my navy ga n navigator, and from 1:00 to 4:00 a.m., we did easily over 400 rescues, getting people out of their holes. the biggest thing was getting people out of their attics, which is a horrible decision. do not go into the attic. >> reporter: right, that is -- i saw that play out in hurricane katrina, tragically, in new orleans. and the advice is, yes, do not go to the attic. many people want to head to the highest part of the house. the problem is, and you can probably explain this better, taylor, is that people get trapped up there. >> the water is rising, it gets over the gutter line, at that point you're trapped in the attic. i will go under a doorway to get in there, but i would never recommend to do that. when that water rises, it compresses the oxygen in there. multiple families, a big family in there, you're going to run out of oxygen. you go in there without an axe to either cut through and get yourself to the roof or cut an oxygen hole to keep air flowing in there, you're in a situation where, one, you're potentially going to have the water rise enough to trap you in there so you're going to drown, or two, you'll run out of oxygen and suffocate. >> reporter: and we saw that, unfortunately, play out in new orleans. i want to thank you, taylor fontanelle, for you and your organization. i saw you operate in careen the reason -- in katrina, we've seen you operate since. way grateful you're here, and i know the authorities are as well. thank you. the deluge hitting the carolinas is not going to end anytime soon. we're talking about days before any of the rivers even crest. cnn analyst allison chinchar is live with a glimpse of what's ahead. you pointed out in the last hour how much rain is to come and how much more water there may be yet in some areas. >> yes, and for some areas it may be a bit misleading, because we're starting to get breaks in the rain, especially in areas like hatteras, you've gone a couple of hours without rain. but i don't want people to think the storm is over. even in other areas, you get breaks in the showers and you this this is it. it's not. all it's doing is taking the heaviest bands and pushing them off to the west. that doesn't mean the rain is ending entirely. so do keep that in mind. don't go outside, don't try to go through the roads, thinking that this is over, base the wat -- because the water that's already on the ground will take time before it finally recreeds back. right now two of the heaviest bands of rain we have is this one line to the north of wilmington, and the other to the south and west of wilmington. those areas where you see the yellows and reds, that's coming down at two to three inches an hour. if that was all you got in one hour, that's fine. the problem is for several of these cities in north carolina, it has been raining for nearly 40 hours straight. so that additional two to three inches, that number alone may not sound like that much, you have to remember that's on top of what they've already had. now, the record for the state of north carolina had been 24 inches from any tropical system. that was floyd back in 1999. we have already broken that record. the new one stands at 30 1/2 inches. keep in mind where that location is, that number is only going to go up. look at this. widespread amounts still expected to be about six to 12 inches. some areas could pick up more than that. you're just going to notice that the locations are beginning to change. now you're starting to have that concern for the heavier rain for places like raleigh, columbia, charlotte, north carolina, and even as you head into those mountains areas, places like asheville, hickory, those locations will start to get a lot of that heavy rain. one thing to keep in mind, some of those mountainous regions, you have not only flooding and flash flooding but also landslides, because topography will start to come into play for areas that are high in elevation. keep that in mind, as the rain shifts to the west, you'll encounter other problems that we really haven't seen yet, one of which is river flooding. right now we have six rivers at major flood stage and five at moderate flood stage. but take a look, when we push this out a few days, look at how many more rivers jump to major flood stage and moderate flood stage. this is because rivers, createk and streams take time. not only do you have to worry about the rain that came down directly over the rivers, but all of it that went into people's yards and roadways. it flows somewhere, eventually it will end up in the rivers, streams, and creeks, but it takes time. they're not going to crest until tuesday or even wednesday of the upcoming week. this is one of them that we are talking about. the cape fear river at wilmington has actually already set a record of 8.2 feet. and we still expect it to be off and on in either minor or moderate flood stage for the next several days. then we also take a look at little river in manchester. this is near cumberland county. the fayetteville police have issued a mandatory evacuation for this county. the reason why, the rapid rise within the next 12 hours. they expect that to jump up to major flood stage. more importantly, it will crest at 35 1/2 feet. that is six feet, martin, over the previous record. and it's going to rise so rapidly, they don't want people to get trapped in their homes, in their businesses. they're telling people to get out now before it reaches that record stage. >> reporter: that is so true, allison. so many people say, look, i have plenty of time, i'll see it coming. it doesn't work that way. flash flooding happens in minutes. allison chinchar, thanks very much. much more ahead. stay with us. this special cnn live coverage of the aftermath of hurricane, now tropical storm florence, continues after this. if you're waiting patiently for a liver transplant, it could cost you your life. it's time to get out of line with upmc. at upmc, living-donor transplants put you first. so you don't die waiting. upmc does more living-donor liver transplants than any other center in the nation. find out more and get out of line today. - anncr: as you grow older, -your brain naturally begins to change which may cause trouble with recall. - learning from him is 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[ engine revving ] yes, i was busy! -24-hour roadside assistance. from america's number-one motorcycle insurer. -you know, i think you're my best friend. you don't have to say i'm your best friend. that's okay. we're back with continuing coverage of florence. the threat now, the rising rivers, the rain that keeps falling, which means flooding, is spreading. in north carolina, heavy rain, high wind, and violent surf, miguel, have been slamming that beach for two days. it's still windy there. describe for me what you've been experiencing today. >> reporter: amazingly enough, this is the nicest weather we've had in 40 hours. we're on the new boardwalk in carolina beach, north carolina. it is the lifeblood of this community. the boardwalk is fine. the beach is now up on the boardwalk, about a foot and a half of sand here. this may be the saddest part for not just the city itself, but for miles and miles up the coast here, it's just eroded. this beach two days ago extended much farther into the water, farther up-coast, there's almost no beach. there's a six or eight-foot drop in front of houses where there used to be beach for 20 or 30 feet. so this is going to be a major problem for communities here to get this back, because this is their economic lifeblood. beyond that, there are the downed trees, the downed power lines, roofs ripped off, walls down. there is a lot of small damage all over carolina beach and this area, that they're trying to get back online now. there's one road in, it goes over a bridge, and one road out, and they have to wait until the winds come down more before they can allow people to start getting in and out. they have to clear debris out and make sure that the electricity wires are off the road. all of that will have to take place. look at this rainstorm, this is another sort of tentacle of this storm that just will not quit. i don't think that's going to be hitting us but it just might. it's been nonstop, for two days we've been sitting out here with everything, from flooding to the tidal surge to rain to wind. and finally, clearly the winds have come down a fair amount, but still, it's not exactly a pleasant day out here, and it won't be for quite some time to come. back to you. >> the ocean looks angry behind you. miguel marquez, you've been doing great work out there, you must have exhausted, hang in there, my friend, thank you for your regulatoporting. let's focus on the federal help, the military now involved. joining us is general terrence o'shaughnessy, the commander of u.s. north command and the north american aerospace defense command. general, thank you for taking the time. what has the department of deof defense been doing to help in the storm response? >> thank you, ana. i would like to start off by commending the great work of local responders, the state and local officials and the fantastic work they've been doing. it is absolutely our objective to stay in tune with them and meet their requirements and needs. as we try to tie in to them, we want to make sure we're tied into their operation centers as well as fema's, to make sure we're ready to respond to any needs they may have. the search and rescue, the high water vehicles, because of the extreme flooding, and the vertical lift have been things that we in the department of defense have been leaning forward with. >> can you tell us, in the aftermath of hurricane florence, the equipment that you're using, you mentioned the high water vehicles, i understand there are also helicopters making rescues; is that correct? >> yes, there sure are. we have 5,400 active duties members right now. we have 13,400 total when you count the national guard. the types of things we're doing, we push helicopters forward, as you mentioned. we have over a hundred helicopters available for search and rescue as well as lift. we have a thousand trucks, the high water vehicles that will allow us to get into areas that conventional responders wouldn't be able to get into. we push those forward so they're available. some of those are already being used. we have a dual status commander. in north carolina we have a commander that works directly for the state governor within the national guard. but we are also able to have active duty members working directly for him so that we're completely in sync with the governor's intent. we've done inthat with trucks fm ft. bragg. >> can you describe to us what you're encountering in your rescue operations? >> i sure can. the storm hasn't moved on much, as your team has been reporting very well. it's made rescue operations very difficult. the coast guard are the primary responders and as they've continued to do their operations, we're trying to add capability and capacity to that. the weather has really been hampering the flight operations at this time. and so as we are prepared, as the storm continues to clear out, we think there's going to be significant additional flooding. we think there will be significant increase in the requirement for rescue. and so we're postured for that. not only do we have the helicopters ready but we have a command and control infrastructure set up that will allow us to best use all of the resources we have available, all the way from the small boats to the helicopters for that search and rescue. >> i know you guys know what to do, you've been there, you've done that. how does this storm compare to other hurricanes? >> well, i think the nature of this has been the slow moving nature of the storm, and really the flooding aspect of this has really been extreme. and frankly i don't think we're out of the woods by any means yet. so i think more to come on the flooding. and that really has us concerned. as we look into the future, the things that we're looking at, to make sure we learn the lessons from previous storms as we look at the availabilibility for us and transport things to those that most need it, we think the roads, the infrastructure, is going to be a challenge. so we again are looking for ways that we can supply department of defense capability to that. again, we think those trucks, we think the vertical lift, especially as the flooding continues to potentially take out some roads. >> general, thank you so much for joining us. and thank you for all the service of you and your men and women who are out in the floodwaters right now trying to make a difference, trying to keep people safe. we really, really appreciate it. don't go away. much more of our live team coverage continues right after this. there's nothing small about your business. with dell small business technology advisors, you get the one-on-one partnership to grow your business. the dell vostro 14 laptop. get up to 40% off on select pcs. call 877-buy-dell today. ( ♪ ) >> reporter: i'm martin savidge in wilmington, north carolina, where we continue to follow the aftermath of what was hurricane florence, now tropical storm florence, and the transition that storm is making from being a major hurricane at one point to now becoming a major flood event for the carolinas here. we want to check in with in this case -- with nick watt, in north myrtle beach, south carolina. nick, where are you now? >> reporter: martin, these bands of wind and rain were coming through about ten minutes ago. a blank of wood was ripped off our house. the real issue is going to be the storm surge, that is the problem. the big waves of the tlaatlanti we had a high tide at lunchtime which reached us here, if you pan down, jake, down, down, down. it would only have to rise another couple of feet over what's called a dune but it's not really a dune, and that water is into the town and inundating north myrtle beach. this storm is not over yet, we're still under flash flood warnings and storm surge warnings. there's still an evacuation order for this county. but a sliver of good news, about ten minutes ago a lady walked over to us with a huge smile on her face. she lives in that pink and greenhouse ovgreen house over there. she saw us broadcasting, she came back today to make sure it's okay. she said to me, you don't know the feeling of coming back and seeing your house is still standing, particularly after you've had devastation in the past. hurricane hugo in '89, it had its roof ripped off and it had half the house with it. so far, so good, but as we've been saying, the storm is not over yet. we've got more wind and rain forecast and when we another high tide during the night tonight. if the winds are still coming onshore by then, who knows? maybe it will come up an extra two fleet but hopefully not the worst, we hope in north myrtle beach the worst has passed, fingers crossed, martin. >> nick, did they have the same concerns about inland flooding in south carolina as they do here in north carolina? >> reporter: oh, absolutely. listen, i was speaking to some people here the other day who they figured that they would be safer here at the coast than they would be on land. hurricane matthew a couple of years ago, there were rivers cresting. it's going to be a similar issue. we may not see that for a few more days, to see those rivers really crest and the impact of that fresh water inland flooding, that could still be to come, martin. >> nick watt joining us now from south carolina there. and ana, just a reminder to our viewers, this storm continues to kill. the death toll now subpoeis up eight. seven people in north carolina have lost their lives, one in south carolina. as we've said many times, there are grave, grave concerns about the days ahead, ana. >> when we look at your shot and nick watt's shot, we don't see all that rain falling right now. but officials say that looks can be sdooefbl and do not be deceived, do not go back if you are evacuated, because the threat is not over. breaking news, a deadly dark attack off the coast of cape cod, a man died decide the efforts of beachgoers to save him. we'll have a live report next. population on the planet. sd ♪ hawaii is the first state in the u.s. to have 100% renewable energy goal. we're a very small electric utility. but, if we don't make this move we're going to have changes in our environment, and have a negative impact to hawaii's economy. ♪ verizon provided us a solution using smart sensors on their network that lets us collect near real time data on our power grid. 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cape cod national park service says the victim was a swimmer in his 20s. officials say he was pulled from the water, given cpr, and beachgoers teamed up to help carry him down the beach. the victim was rushed to the hospital but sadly did not survive. we're gathering more information and we'll bring you any updates as we learn new investments. we're also learning more about the string of deadly gas explosions and fires that decimated homes in an area north of boston. the governor of massachusetts has now declared a state of emergency in three different towns. he has also taken the extraordinary step of putting a different utility company in charge of the recovery. >> we took this step after it became clear to us that columbia gas was simply inadequately prepared to take the steps necessary to effectively manage relief efforts. >> at least one person died. more than a dozen others were injured. around 8,000 people were forced to leave their homes. officials say they have now cleared more than 50 streets in north andover but it could be some time before life returns to that area. cnn's allison kosik joins us. what are officials saying? >> reporter: we certainly heard quite a bit from the ntsb. this is the first time we're hearing from the federal agency since they arrived yesterday. for one thing, when the chairman of the ntsb came out, he said, look, we're not here to find probable cause today. we're here to collect information, not even analyze it, but collect it, collect data, collect perishable evidence, meaning evidence that can go away over time, and then at a later time they will come up with probable cause. among the interesting points that he mentioned, he said there was a pressure increase reported right in lawrence. that's where i am right now. it's one of the three suburbs that experienced these horrific explosions almost simultaneously on thursday during the hour of 4:00. now, he did not say when the detection happened about this pressure increase. but he said there was a data center in columbus, ohio that recorded this. and he wants to know what the response was from the company that monitors it, columbia gas. among the other things the ntsb will do, it will create a timeline over the past three weeks asking questions including were there any inspections, was there any increase in complaints from customers, talking about maybe a smell of gas. most importantly, he says what was the response, if there were these increased complaints, what was the response from columbia gas. he's very interested in finding out what the culture is at columbia gas, its safety record, its training, and its parent company nysource. here is the chairman. >> system safety at columbia gas is something we're interested in, what was the safety culture of columbia gas and its parent company nysource, what were the organizational factors that may have influenced one way or the other this event and its outcome. what was the overall regulatory compliance history of columbia gas. >> reporter: now, state and local authorities are also carrying out their own investigations. as for the ntsb, they say they will come up with their findings, anywhere between 12 and 24 months. but they do say, the ntsb does say they will come out with a preliminary report that could spell out that probable cause, the reason, also, for these explosions that killed one and injured more than 12 and damaged or destroyed dozens of homes and businesses, ana. >> it's such a scary situation, alison. if i were one of those thousands of people who had to evacuate, i would be scared to go back home, not knowing what the cause is at this point. how do they know people are safe to go home? what is being done to make sure that those homes are safe? >> reporter: well, right now what's actually happening in the neighborhoods, you've got these teams of three going literally door to door in the three suburbs to these homes. it's a utility technician, a first responder, and a locksmith. they're literally going inside the home and checking to see if there's any lingering gas in the attic or the basement. and they're shutting off the gas. also outside they're noticing if there's any lingering gas there. each time the home maybe gets a clean bill of health, then perhaps people can go back home. but here's the thing, when they go back home, there's no power or gas. no telling when the power is going to come back on. and i'm hearing it will take weeks before the gas is turned back on, ana. >> alison kosik, thank you for the update. demonstrators in dallas are protesting the shooting death of a black man in his own home by a police officer. we have the latest in this case just ahead, a cnn exclusive, next. making my dreams a reality takes more than just investment advice. from insurance to savings to retirement, it takes someone with experience and knowledge who can help me build a complete plan. brian, my certified financial planner™ professional, is committed to working 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shot by a dallas police officer who says she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. botham jean was laid to rest yesterday and an attorney for his family is now casting doubt on the official story. the police officer who pulled the trigger says she thought she was entering her own home and opened fire on who she thought was an intruder. cnn's ryan young has more on this and goes inside the victim's apartment to see himself what happened. here is his report. >> reporter: unit 1478 was botham jean's apartment. it's where the 26-year-old's young life was cut short when he was shot by a police officer in his living room. a small memorial with flowers and a photo of his mother adorn his front door. >> at 26 years old he had done so much. >> reporter: with permission from the family, we are getting a look inside botham's apartment. it's a typical single man's apartment except for the bullet hole in the wall indicated by an evidence marker more than six feet high and a pool of blood on floor which we will not show you. there is laundry piled on the couch and a half-eaten bowl of cereal that still had milk in it. he may have been reading one of the many books littering the apartment before being shot and killed by officer amber guyger. this is video of amber guyger pacing, upset moments after the shooting. she told investigators she shot jean after mistaking his apartment for her own. she told investigators after work she parked her car on the wrong floor, walked to the wrong apartment, and jean's door was slightly open. in her statement to police she says she gave verbal commands before firing two shots. >> they both heard a knock or a pounding on the door followed by a female's voice saying open up, let me in. they said it sounded not like an officer but like someone who wanted to be let into the apartment. the witness said that was followed shortly by the sound of gunshots and a man saying, she believed, oh, my god, why did you do that. >> reporter: the jean family's attorney and the family are upset by the leak of a police warrant saying police had found a small amount of marijuana in his apartment. the warrant doesn't indicate who the items belonged to. it's unknown if a search warrant was executed at the officer's apartment. >> 26 years on this earth. he lived his life virtually without blemish had. and it took being murdered by a dallas police officer for botham jean to suddenly become a criminal. there is a clear intent here to smear the name of botham jean. >> reporter: during a moving funeral service, we learned much more about jean and his accomplishments. family and friends talked openly about his love of people, for singing, and the fact that he was a high achieving employee on a partnership track at the accounting firm pwc. >> pwc is hurting. not just in dallas but all across our country. . >> he was so joyful. we know how much he loved to sing. he was the biggest extroverted accountant you'll find. >> reporter: the d.a.'s office will take the case before a grand jury to determine the next course of action. cnn has reached out to officer guyger's attorney. they will not return our calls. a heartbroken mother wants answers. >> i'm calling on dallas officials, please come clean. give me justice for my son. because he does not deserve what he got. >> reporter: ryan young, cnn, dallas. >> announcer: america's choice 2018 is brought to you by america's biopharmaceutical companies. b go boldly. and by mitsubishi motors. drive your ambition. ♪ when you rent from national... it's kind of like playing your own version of best ball. because here, you can choose any car in the aisle, even if it's a better car class than the one you reserved. so no matter what, you're guaranteed to have a perfect drive. 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