About 22 million Americans across the East Coast were under flood watches Saturday as a "once in 200 years rainfall event" started soaking the Carolinas — with the worst yet to come.
As much as a foot of rain fell overnight in Wilmington, North Carolina, and numerous water rescues were reported.
"Our goal constantly is to be overprepared and underwhelmed," North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory told reporters Saturday morning.
South Carolina could get more rain in three days than it normally does during the entire fall, The Associated Press reported. Saturday was the third consecutive day of the relentless onslaught of rain, with a plume of precipitation expected to last through the weekend and only start to let up on Monday.
Officials on Saturday reported 17,000 power outages across North Carolina.