CONWAY, South Carolina -- Dangerous floodwaters continue to threaten the Carolinas more than a week after Hurricane Florence made landfall. At least 43 deaths are blamed on the storm, and the Waccamaw and Cape Fear rivers are still rising.

Hurricane Florence's rain has become a slow-moving, but destructive wall of water snaking down the Carolinas, where hundreds are under evacuation orders.

The only way to reach some homes in Conway, South Carolina is by boat. There is a massive effort underway to protect what could become the only way in and out of town.

"So as the water approaches, this polyurethane will help protect all of the material, the earth material, that we put beneath it," said Lt. Col. Bill Matheny, who is with the South Carolina National Guard.

Matheny said 300 soldiers were part of the effort to build 4 miles of temporary dam in just one week.

"So coming in from our north is the Waccamaw River and what you see here is already the low-lying areas," Matheny said. "We're starting to get the increased levels from the Waccamaw and to our east, we have the dike that typically separates the Waccamaw River from Lake Busbee. So we're really dealing with one body of water at this point."

Residents are expessing their gratitude, like Jennifer Mullen, who has been part of an effort to provide the soldiers home-cooked meals.

"They say 'thank you.' They are so gracious and I mean their gratitude is overwhelming from them for everything that was done for them," Mullen said.

Upstream in North Carolina, the clean-up continues. Sixty-nine thousand people there have applied for FEMA assistance as their neighbors in South Carolina, like those who live near the Waccamaw, are anxiously watching the waters rise.