At least 23 people have died in North and South Carolina since Friday, including a three-month-old baby

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Severe flooding caused by storm Florence could last for days and even weeks, officials warned on Monday, as it continued its path north on the US east coast.

At least 23 people have died in North and South Carolina since Friday, including a three month-old baby, as tropical depression Florence moved slowly across the region, dumping rain, swelling rivers and flooding cities.

More than 1,000 search-and-rescue personnel with 36 helicopters and over 200 boats were working in North Carolina, and the defense department assigned 13,500 military personnel to help relief efforts. As of early Monday, the state’s governor said 1,600 people and 300 animals had been moved to safety.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bob Richling carries Iris Darden, 84, out of her flooded home as her daughter-in-law, Pam Darden, gathers her belongings in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in Spring Lake, North Carolina, Monday. Photograph: David Goldman/AP

The US’s highest emergency official warned that other states now stand in the path of Florence. “Not only are you going to see more impact across North Carolina this week … but we’re also anticipating you are about to see a lot of damage going through West Virginia, all the way up to Ohio as the system exits out,” said Brock Long of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In the Carolinas, the National Weather Service continued to warn people the floods were worsening.

“The worst is yet to come,” as river levels rise to historic levels, said Zach Taylor, an NWS meteorologist. “The soil is soaked and can’t absorb any more rain so that water has to go somewhere, unfortunately.”

Florence was headed through Virginia and toward New England and flash flood watches extended from Maryland through New York and southern New England. The flooding could persist for several weeks in some areas.

Charles Peek (@cpeek7) Stoney Creek Plantation in Leland, NC on the Morgan Branch of Town Creek has devestating flooding from #HurricaneFlorence @JimCantore @StevePetyerak #ncwx pic.twitter.com/Z4jtnLNw36

The coastal city of Wilmington had been cut off by flood waters from the Cape Fear river on Monday, but a major route into the city was reopened in the afternoon.

Further inland, the same river, running through Fayetteville, a city of 200,000, was expected to reach major flood levels later on Monday, and would not crest until Tuesday.

Florence brought heavy rains to parts of Virginia late on Sunday and early Monday as the storm trekked north.

In Wilmington, the state’s eighth-largest city, residents waited for hours outside stores and restaurants for necessities such as water. Police guarded the door of one store and only 10 people were allowed inside at a time.

Play Video 1:13 Catastrophic flooding brought to Carolinas by Storm Florence – video report

About 70 miles (115km) from the coast, residents near Lumber river stepped from their homes directly into boats floating in their front yards. River forecasts showed the scene could be repeated in towns as far as 250 miles inland amid rising waters in the coming days.

Although it has been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical depression, Florence remains a deadly storm. Satellite imagery showed parts of the sprawling storm over six states, with North and South Carolina at the centre.

The mayor of New Bern, a city badly affected by flooding, told NBC he had imposed a curfew. Thirty roads remained impassable, Dana Outlaw said, with 4,200 homes and more than 300 commercial buildings damaged, 6,000 people left without power and 1,200 in shelters. More than 450 people had to be rescued from swirling flood water over the weekend.

In Goldsboro, rain fell and the Neuse river was swelling above its banks. A Sunday service at Greenleaf Christian church was cancelled. Its pastor, the civil rights leader William Barber, had to evacuate his 86-year-old mother to Greensboro.

On Monday, Donald Trump approved federal funding to aid recovery efforts in areas of South Carolina affected by Florence. The US navy said two warships carrying helicopters and rescue equipment were also in position off the east coast to help with the response to Florence if requested by civilian officials.

Play Video 1:29 Jacksonville resident canoes through neighbourhood to show extent of flooding – video

Much of the south and west of Lumberton is underwater after the Lumber river broke its banks.

Several open-air manure pits at hog farms in North Carolina had failed or were simply swamped, the department of environmental quality secretary, Michael Regan, reported on Monday, and are spilling their muck. Fears of this occurring had been expressed before the hurricane hit.

Earlier about a hundred volunteers had worked for hours in a frantic effort to contain the river and prevent flooding. Locals worked with the national guard to position 5,000 sandbags at a part of the river that flooded during Hurricane Matthew. But on Sunday night officials said the hastily constructed levee had been breached, leaving the Lumber cascading almost unchecked through the town.

Three miles south of Lumberton the coastguard were going door to door urging people to evacuate as the river spilled over roads and flooded housing areas and trailer parks. A small team climbed into red boats in the torrential rain to approach homes and warn people that the flooding would get worse.

“Most people have gone. But we can’t force them to leave,” a coastguard said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Homes and a power station are surrounded by floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in Newport, North Carolina Monday. Photograph: Tom Copeland/AP

Danny Britt, a North Carolina state senator who helped organize the damming effort on the Lumber, had coordinated a team of local boat owners to rescue people who had left it too late to leave. Trapped residents were sending Britt messages on Facebook or calling his cell asking for help, and the team had rescued about 30 people by Sunday afternoon, Britt said, including a number of rescues late into Saturday night.

“When you can’t see how deep the water is, and it’s moving fast, it’s kind of scary,” Britt said. “It’s pretty unsafe.”

Associated Press contributed to this report