Fred slams North Carolina, leaving 2 people dead, 20 missing after widespread flooding

Two people are dead and 20 North Carolina residents remain missing on Thursday after remnants of Tropical Depression Fred brought severe weather to the mid-Atlantic. 

Haywood County officials told reporters that several people were determined to be safe and had reunited with their families, according to WRAL. 

NORTH CAROLINA FACES 'CATASTROPHIC' FLOODING FROM FRED, DOZENS REPORTED MISSING

The tally of those missing previously stood at 35. 

They also reported that two individuals had been found dead overnight; the deceased have yet to be identified. 

The death toll from the storm now stands at three and officials said a man was killed on Monday night near Panama City, Florida.

Posts on social media showed images of the extensive flooding in Haywood County near Asheville and emergency response teams were seen rescuing dozens of people. 

"Ongoing search and rescue efforts are happening in Lake Logan and the Cruso areas," Haywood County Emergency Services Director Travis Donaldson said during a Wednesday news conference.

The search for others still unaccounted for will continue on Thursday, with hundreds on missions –  including members of the National Guard and Highway Patrol helicopter crews – working to locate loved ones.

Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers said that the storm had "created a major disaster area" in his town.

Photos from the North Carolina Department of Transportation showed crumbling roadways and bridges washed out by the storm and Transylvania County Schools said the district would be on a two-hour delay as floodwaters are still high and locals continue to clean up the area. 

Mudslides, landslides and several apparent tornadoes also threatened residents as the storm moved into the Northeast.

Haywood, Transylvania, Jackson, McDowell, Madison, Mitchell, Rutherford and Yancey counties have all declared local states of emergency. 

Gov. Roy Cooper issued a state of emergency on Wednesday in order to aid first responders and the agriculture industry and activate the state’s emergency operations plan. 

"This state of emergency will allow our first responders to get into our affected communities quickly to save lives, restore power, remove debris and bring supplies," he said in a statement. "North Carolina is strong and resilient, and we’re committed to helping people and businesses recover as quickly as possible."

Cooper noted that nearly a foot of rain had fallen in areas of western North Carolina over the past three days and tweeted Wednesday that there were unconfirmed reports in some communities that put water levels at "3 to 7 feet higher than their previous high watermark,"

While 37,000 customers were recorded without power on Wednesday in both North Carolina and West Virginia, just under 3,000 North Carolinians were powerless on Thursday morning, according to nationwide outage tracker PowerOutage.US.

Approximately 100 people had been rescued across the state and 911 call records showed 2,400 calls within 24 hours in Buncombe County. 

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More rain is forecast for North Carolina later in the week and Tropical Storm Henri has moved toward the U.S. coast and is expected to become a hurricane by the weekend.

As post-Tropical Cyclone Fred moves into southern New York on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said Henri was located over the Atlantic Ocean approximately 525 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and about 810 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. 

Fox News' Michael Ruiz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.