5 dead in Hurricane Florence in North Carolina

CAIRO, Sept 14, Five people have died as Hurricane Florence mauls the US East Coast, knocking out power to 600,000 homes and causing buildings to crumble, BBC reported.

Evacuation warnings are in place for 1.7 million people.

As of 5:15 a.m. local time, 288,978 residents were experiencing power outages, according to the North Carolina Department of Safety.

The storm was downgraded late Thursday to Category 1, as the North Carolina coast was battered by hurricane-force winds and a life-threatening storm surge.