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Dead fish scattered on the highway as floodwaters recede in North Carolina

Posted at 8:29 AM, Sep 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-23 10:29:08-04

(CNN) — North Carolina fire crews hosing down Interstate 40 after floodwaters receded found a stunning discovery: Dead fish scattered across the highway.

The flooding from the deadly Hurricane Florence pushed the fish from their natural habitat and stranded them on the interstate, the Penderlea Fire Department posted on Facebook on Saturday.

“Well, we can add ‘washing fish off of the interstate’ to the long list of interesting things firefighters get to experience!” it said.

At least 44 people have died since the hurricane slammed the Carolinas, sending rivers overflowing into neighborhoods and roadways.

While the rain has subsided, some rivers are still rising, and North and South Carolina officials warn the flooding danger is far from over.

Last week, drone video captured how flooding from the storm transformed part of I-40 from a highway into a waterway. In the video taken as part of the state’s damage assessment, a section of the highway is completely underwater.

More than a week after Hurricane Florence made landfall, the trillions of gallons of water it dumped over the Carolinas are slowly moving toward the sea, leaving a path of destruction. Residential streets have turned into rivers, and freeways have morphed into waterways.