Millions of chickens and thousands of pigs on farms have died as a result of Hurricane Florence, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs has said.

Preliminary estimates as of 19 September suggests that 3.4m poultry birds and 5,500 hogs have died since Florence made landfall last week, exceeding the number killed in the state with Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said that flooding from the “unprecedented” storm has impacted the “top six agricultural counties” in North Carolina.

“This was an unprecedented storm with flooding expected to exceed that from any other storms in recent memory,” said Mr Troxler according to a press release.

Mr Troxler noted that the flooding caused by Florence hit the same areas affected by Matthew, which he said “only worsens the burden on these farmers”.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, North Carolina had a total of roughly 830m broiler chicken, or chicken bred and raised specifically for meat production, in 2017.

Donald Trump visits areas affected by Hurricane Florence

The state agriculture department has announced a series of programmes and post-hurricane efforts in the aftermath of the storm, including efforts to work with meat and poultry division inspectors to ensure meat and poultry products that became unsafe for consumption as a result of the storm do not enter public food supply.

Rain and floodwaters caused by Florence has also caused outdoor hog manure pits, known as lagoons, to overflow in the state, threatening the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, said Matt Wellington antibiotics program director of US PIRG (Public Interest Research Group).