The driver, Richard Walton Robinson, was in a blue Subaru Crosstrek SUV when he drove around sheriff’s office vehicles and into high water.

The Carolinas have been inundated with record breaking rainfall over the past two days as tropical storm-like system dumps 18 inches of rain on Carolina City in a matter of hours.

Aerial footage shows flood damage in Brunswick County, North Carolina after heavy rainfall impacted the area. The remnants of Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 lingered over the Carolinas on Monday, bringing over 20 inches of precipitation to some areas,

Some parts of southeastern North Carolina received around 23 inches of rain as schools and public offices stayed closed on Tuesday.

The rain from the system had moved into southeast Virginia on Tuesday. Along North Carolina's Outer Banks, the storm closed vulnerable coastal highway North Carolina 12 on Ocracoke Island and threatened several homes in Rodanthe, where erosion and rising sea levels have destroyed more than a half-dozen beachfront homes this decade.

Southeast North Carolina grapples with flash flooding and road washouts from what the U.S. National Hurricane Center dubbed Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight

On Monday at 11:25 a.m. the National Weather Service issued a flood watch valid from 8 p.m. until Tuesday 8 a.m. The watch is for Gaston, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union and York counties.

More people die from floods every year than tornadoes, lightning, or hurricanes, according to the National Weather Service.

Flooding closes roads in North Carolina