1.7 Million Chickens Drown In Flooding From Florence

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Roughly 1.7 million chickens were killed when Hurricane Florence swept through the Carolinas.

Poultry producer Sanderson Farms says out their 880 broiler houses in North Carolina, 60 have flooded due to the hurricane.

"The Company estimates that approximately 1.7 million head of broiler chickens out of an average live inventory of approximately 20 million head, ranging in age from six days to sixty-two days, were destroyed as a result of flooding," said Sanderson Farms.

The company doesn't believe that the loss of housing capacity will affect its ongoing operations.

At least 35 people have died in storm-related incidents -- 25 in North Carolina, 6 in South Carolina and 1 in Virginia