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POWERFUL IMAGES: Catastrophic damage caused by Michael across Southeast

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Fast-moving Michael has left North Carolina behind with rivers rising and more than 500,000 households in the dark.

Gov. Roy Cooper's office said the power outages were concentrated in central North Carolina's Piedmont region, as trees and power lines toppled under the pressure of winds of up to 60 mph.

[PHOTOS: Charlotte-area damage]

[PHOTOS: Mexico Beach decimated by Hurricane Michael]

[PHOTOS: Virginia damage]

[CLICK HERE for a running list of closings because of Michael]

[CLICK HERE for power outage map]

Flash flooding snarled the state's two largest cities, Charlotte and Raleigh, as well as the university town of Chapel Hill.

Dozens of swift water rescues and evacuations were needed in the Piedmont region as well as the state's mountains and foothills.

Michael also sent dangerous wind gusts over portions of Virginia.

On Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center issued its final advisory on Michael, now a post-tropical cyclone speeding off over the Atlantic Ocean.

And, impressively, Michael's top sustained winds are growing again, to near 65 mph at 5 a.m., with forecasters saying it will grow stronger still.

It remains very large, with tropical storm-force winds extending outward up to 275 miles from its center. A gauge on one offshore buoy recorded a wind gust of nearly hurricane strength.

The Hurricane Center says threats to land are diminishing. There's a minor storm surge still along the North Carolina coast, gale-force winds may continue for a few more hours over the southern Chesapeake Bay area, and several inches of rain is expected from New Jersey up through Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Flash flooding may continue meanwhile in the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic states.

The storm left devastation in its wake, and below are social media posts highlighting Michael's power and destruction:

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