Floodwaters are inundating South Carolina after unprecedented rainfall resulted in 11 deaths, more than 500 road and bridge closures, and hundreds of rescues of people trapped in homes and cars by the rising water, officials said on 5 October.

Aerials images shot by a drone showed vast swathes of land submerged underwater. Residents were seen wading through knee-deep water and several vehicles lay abandoned in muddy stretches of floodwaters.

Governor Nikki Haley warned residents to remain on alert as rain continued to fall in some of the hardest-hit areas, including the state capital of Columbia, which saw its wettest days on record over the weekend.

More than 2ft of rain has fallen in the past three days in parts of South Carolina, and moderate to heavy rain persisted on 5 October in the state's saturated north-eastern corner and south-eastern North Carolina, the National Weather Service said.

The flooding closed schools and government offices, stranded motorists and led to dramatic rescues, including a mother and her 15-month-old child who were plucked by a US Coast Guard helicopter from a flooded home in Huger, South Carolina.

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