(7 Sep 1996) English/Nat

Hurricane Fran, that has ripped through the East coast of the U-S for the last three days, was downgraded to a Tropical Storm.

The hurricane has left at least 17 people dead, flooding and traffic accidents and left more than 1 (m) million customers without power.

Flooding is now a major concern.

The clean-up continues in the aftermath as residents slowly return to their houses.

As Hurricane Fran changed to a Tropical Storm on Friday, people began to clean up the debris around their homes.

Many were greeted with fallen trees and downed power lines.

Hurricane Fran descended upon the East Coast of the U-S on Tuesday, causing widespread damage in its wake.

The main states to have been hit by the hurling winds were North and South Carolina and Virginia.

The hurricane may have calmed down, but flooding is now the major concern.

The Army Corps of Engineers reported that most rivers in Virginia are at or near flood levels.

In North Carolina, it could take days before power is restored.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (F-E-M-A) officials have reported that the damage so far could be in the order of around 9-hundred (m) million dollars.

SOUNDBITE:
I have heard figures so far in the order of 8-hundred, 9-hundred (m) million dollars. Those are just preliminary. Because of the flooding and the debris clearance and the loss of infrastructure, obviously all the damage cost will be significantly higher.
SUPER CAPTION: Mike Austin, Director of Emergency Support Team

The Hurricane has left its toll.

At least 17 people have been killed, mostly with falling trees, flooding and traffic accidents, and more than 1 million customers
in the south-eastern United States have been left without power.

Even though the storm seems to have calmed, F-E-M-A is still monitoring the situation.

SOUNDBITE:
Yes we have a tropical depression several hundred miles east of the Leeward Islands. We are just watching at this moment, we are hopeful it will not become an immediate problem. But our major concern is not to get mesmerised by the current hurricane Fran consequences, but we are watching that.
SUPER CAPTION: Mike Austin, Director of Emergency Support Team

But sunny skies and fair weather greeted returning East Coast evacuees to Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina -- one of the hardest hit areas.

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