Florence Latest: Another Death Reported; Town Sues Railroad Over Levee

North Carolina is reporting another death caused by Hurricane Florence and its remnants. 

Gov. Roy Cooper's office says a 67-year-old man died while cleaning up storm debris in Craven County, and the state medical examiner's office determined that the death was storm-related.

The man's name wasn't immediately released.

Cooper said the death is the 36th storm fatality for the state.

State Emergency Management spokesman Keith Acree says the man died after falling and fracturing his neck while cleaning up on Sept. 18, days after the storm made landfall. The state has still been dealing with the storm's after-effects including fallen trees, debris and floodwaters.

Meanwhile, residents of a flooded North Carolina town are suing a railroad company, alleging it impeded efforts to plug a gap in a levee.

Several Lumberton residents sued CSX Corp. this week claiming a railroad underpass owned by the company created a gap in a levee allowing floodwater to pour in after Florence.

The plaintiffs say the company knew about the problem for some time and that the gap also exacerbated flooding during Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

The lawsuit cites a May 2018 report by state officials calling for a floodgate and saying planning was underway.

The plaintiffs say Lumberton officials were refused permission by CSX to build a temporary sandbag berm at the underpass as Florence approached. They say an emergency order by the governor allowed them to build a last-minute temporary berm but it was breached by floodwaters.

CSX issued a statement that it doesn't comment on pending litigation, but noted the "extraordinary storm" devastated Lumberton and other communities with its flooding.