reported record levels during the course of the event. Many streams reported discharge rates of more than double the previous records. Most of the flooding occurred along small rivers that rose to flood stage within hours, largely impacting populated areas; there were around 30 million people in the region affected by the floods. Overall, 813 houses were destroyed, with 14,000 heavily damaged. The storms damage caused over 35,000 families to re locate. The floods also severed infrastructure and affected several summer camps. Damage to public utilities was estimated at $79 million. Flooding in rural areas resulted in landslides in the mountains, while destroyed crops cost an estimated $7 million. Hundreds of miles of roads and bridges were also destroyed, accounting for $82 million in damage. Damage from Diane's winds were generally minor. The hurricane caused $831.7 million in damage, of which $600 million was in New England, making it the costliest hurricane in American history at the time. Taking into account indirect losses, such as loss of wages and business earnings, Diane was described as "the first billion dollar hurricane." This contributed to 1955 being the costliest Atlantic hurricane season on record at the time. Overall, there were at least 184 deaths, potentially as many as 200. Carolinas The strongest sustained winds associated with Diane's landfall in North Carolina reached in Hatteras, with gusts to in Wilmington. Any hurricane-force gusts were likely very sporadic and isolated in nature. Tides ran above normal near Wilmington, and waves in height struck the coast. The resultant storm surge damaged beach houses, flooded coastal roads, and destroyed seawalls damaged by Hurricane Connie a few days prior. The center of the storm passed over Wilmington without much of a decrease in winds, suggesting the eye had largely dissipated in the weakening tropical cyclone. Little precipitation fell in and around the city, though precipitation was more substantial elsewhere in the state, peaking at in New Bern. At Oakway in neighboring South Carolina, rainfall amounted to . Mid-Atlantic After Diane crossed into Virginia, it dropped heavy rainfall of over in 24 hours in the Blue Ridge Mountains, peaking at in Big Meadows. There, the rains were enhanced by moist air rising over the mountain peaks and condensing, a process known as orographic lift. Rainfall of over occurred throughout Virginia, as well as into the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, where was reported at Stony River Reservoir. Similar