RALEIGH, N.C. - Transportation crews have found a dead body while cleaning debris from a North Carolina river swollen by heavy rains.

State Department of Transportation spokesman Robert Broome said a maintenance crew made the discovery on Tuesday while removing debris at a bridge over the Neuse River at the edge of downtown Smithfield.

Smithfield town spokesman Tim Kerigan said in an email that the body couldn't immediately be recovered because of fast-moving water.

Kerigan and Broome couldn't say whether the death was storm-related, referring questions to the police. The Smithfield Police chief didn't immediately return an email seeking comment.

Storms that began on Sunday have drenched the state with the most rain since a destructive hurricane last year.

The National Weather Service says the Neuse River is above flood stage and expected to crest in the coming days just above 24 feet. That would be several feet below levels reached during Hurricane Matthew last year.