Historic US flooding death toll rises to 17

NEW YORK

The death toll from unprecedented rainfall that hammered the U.S. east coast since last week has risen to 17, officials said Tuesday.

Despite improving forecast, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said the state was still far from a return to normalcy.

"Don't let the sunshine fool you", she told a news conference on Tuesday, adding that the state would remain "in prayer mode" for the upcoming two days.

Of the 17 weather-related deaths, 15 occurred in South Carolina and two in North Carolina, authorities said.

The record-breaking downpour has flooded large parts of the Carolinas, prompting President Barack Obama to declare a state of emergency in order to activate federal help to deal with the event.

A weather system loosely connected to hurricane Joaquin in the Caribbean is said to have made the situation worse.

Haley said the crisis was one that "occurs only once in a thousand years".

She said state emergency officers had worked more than 4,300 service calls, of which 1,800 have been traffic collisions.

According to South Carolina Emergency Management Division, at least 10 dams had breached or failed in the state since Saturday.

The agency said it was closely monitoring 18 dams.