CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Four North Carolina deaths are being now being attributed to the Subtropical Storm Alberto and more than 50 roads in western North Carolina counties were closed Thursday because of flooding, mudslides and fallen trees.
The deaths include two people who died Wednesday when a mudslide and suspected gas explosion combined to cause a home to collapse near Boone, and a TV anchor man and photojournalist who were killed Monday when their vehicle was struck by a tree near Tryon, N.C.
A fifth person, a woman, died last week during a mudslide in Tryon, but North Carolina Emergency Management says that death is not related to rains brought to the Carolinas by Subtropical Storm Alberto.
More showers and thunderstorms, including heavy downpours, are possible again Thursday and Friday, suggesting matters could get worse, according to the National Weather Service.
Gov. Roy Cooper traveled to affected areas Thursday afternoon to survey the damage in Rutherford, Polk and McDowell counties.
Cooper noted the progress first responders have made in clearing roads and restoring power to residents in the region. By Thursday afternoon, 1,000 people in western North Carolina were still in need of power, he said, down from 6,000.
Once the rains have passed, officials will survey affected areas to assess damages, and assist residents in seeing if they're eligible for federal assistance, he said.
Cooper called on residents to continue to listen to weather alerts and avoid driving on flooded roads. State officials warned motorists that water on standing roads might mask damaged or washed out pavement.
"It only takes a little bit of water to sweep a car away, so we ask you to turn around," Cooper said.
Several rescues have been reported due to the flooding and mudslides.
TV station WSOC is reporting three men had to be rescued Wednesday night from the Johns River in Morganton, after their kayaks capsized. The three men were found by emergency crews near the Huffman Bridge access area, the station reported.
Two NCDOT workers had to be rescued late Tuesday in McDowell County after their dump truck was pushed into the Catawba River by a mudslide, reported NCDOT.
And two other people were rescued from a vehicle after mud slid across Interstate 40 at 10 p.m. Tuesday in McDowell County, reported TV station ABC-11.
Driver Lee Ribley told ABC-11 that emergency workers linked arms and pulled he and his fiance out of their car after it was surrounded by waist-deep mud.
"There was a very loud sound, like a freight train," Ribley told ABC-11. "Everything in front of us was just big, turning mud. There were big trees being pulled down into it and trees go through it and boulders."
A flash flood watch remained in effect for western North Carolina through Friday morning, with the potential for additional landslides, said North Carolina Emergency Management.
As of 4 a.m. Thursday, the 48-hour rainfall accumulations were 4 to 8 inches over the headwaters of the Catawba River, Johns River and their tributaries, officials said.
Several lakes in the western North Carolina are "well above full pool," including the Lake James, Lake Rhodhiss, Lake Hickory and Lookout Shoals Lake, said McDowell County Emergency Management.
Residents around Lookout Shoals Lake near Carpenter's Cover were told Thursday to pay close attention to alerts, as water approaches residential yards and structures.
