Ex-Hurricane Florence has unleashed its fury on the Carolinas in the US.
A mother and her baby are among the five killed so far. Hundreds more have had to be rescued, and the floodwater is still rising.
As night fell, Florence roared ashore, carving a destructive path and pelting the region with heavy rain and powerful winds.
Transformers blew up, plunging parts of the Carolinas into complete darkness, with power cut to almost 1 million.
In Wilmington, North Carolina, gusts reached more than 160 km/h, the highest recorded speeds there since 1958, sending debris flying through the air.
A mother and her infant daughter were killed when a tree crashed onto their home, emergency services only able to save the father.
High winds reduced one building in Morehead City to rubble, tearing off the roofs of homes and toppling trees across the region.
"For overall damage it will be hard at the end of the day I think to find a rival for this storm," said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.
In Jacksonville, a man and his children spent a terrifying night at a motor inn, the roof destroyed while they were inside.
Rescue crews were quickly hard at work, helping trapped people out of their flooded homes.
Streets across the Carolinas were buried beneath rising floodwaters, forcing more than 1 million people to evacuate.
Local residents waded through water to check on their neighbours and rescue animals that were left behind.
Although downgraded to a tropical storm, Florence's trail of destruction is severe and vast. The slow-moving storm is moving inland, and the threat is far from over.
Newshub.
