Washington, Sep 18 (IANS): The death toll from hurricane Florence that battered the US states of North and South Carolina has increased to 31, authorities said.

Of the 31 fatalities, six died in South Carolina and the other 25 in North Carolina, Efe news quoted the authorities as saying on Monday.

Several people died of drowning, others were involved in traffic accidents and some killed by trees that fell on their houses, including two children in separate incidents.

Hundreds of thousands of people had to abandon their homes, thousands had to be evacuated and some 500,000 remain without electricity.

According to data published on Monday by the National Hurricane Centre (NHC), Florence is moving away from the two affected states at a speed of 22 kph after causing heavy rainfall in the area over the entire weekend.

"This is a monumental disaster for our state," North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said Monday.

"This is an epic storm that is still continuing because the rivers are still rising."

The National Weather Service also warned of "historical and catastrophic river flooding" in the coming days.