TARBORO, N.C. - More heavy rain fell yesterday on eastern North Carolina, delaying the ebb of flooding that has destroyed hundreds of homes since Hurricane Floyd, but forecasters promised a dry spell was on the way.

Up to 8 inches fell over two days and clouds threatened an additional inch or two yesterday, 13 days after Floyd came ashore and dumped 20 inches.

"Hopefully this will be the last round of it,'' said Susan Yeaman, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Raleigh. Three days of dry weather should follow the rain, she said.

The latest rainfall flooded most of downtown Goldsboro's streets Tuesday, ruptured a dam in Wayne County and pushed up the Tar and Neuse rivers, which had been receding. The rivers are expected to crest later this week and start receding again.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed that more rain won't come in,'' said Sgt. 1st Class Terry McPhail of the National Guard in Goldsboro.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, on a tour of the flooded areas yesterday, said eastern North Carolina needs not just flood relief but a top-to-bottom reconstruction because its economy lagged even before Hurricane Floyd.

"This area had people who were hurting even before this flood,'' Jackson said.

"To ask them to meet any standard conventional lending simply will not work for them,'' he said, urging a special low-income loan program. ''If we can do it for Poland, Taiwan, we can do it for Princeville and Tarboro.''

Floyd killed at least 47 people in North Carolina and destroyed 1,461 homes, with damage expected to exceed Hurricane Fran's $6 billion in losses in 1996. About 2,000 people remained in 21 American Red Cross shelters yesterday.

While praising the Red Cross' efforts, many were fed up with shelter life after weeks of it.

"It's been the worst thing in my life,'' said Monzell Battle of Princeville, who has been staying in a shelter at Tarboro off and on for two weeks. "You can't go home. You go to work musty because you can't get a good shower.''

But many don't have a choice.

"We didn't have anywhere to go,'' said Teresa Barnes of Tarboro.

And Red Cross officials said the shelters will be available until all the evacuees have somewhere to go. A hand-lettered sign in the Tarboro shelter reads: "Rumor control. This shelter IS NOT closing. Also we have no strollers.''

State officials announced plans to spend up to $60 million to buy about 4,000 mobile homes for displaced flood victims to live in for up to 18 months while their homes are repaired or replaced. Sixty-five families already were living in campers in Rocky Mount, and at least three more trailer parks were planned in flood-stricken areas.

The Edgecombe County school system's 8,000 students will finally return to classes Monday for the first time since Sept. 15, but they sorely need supplies, spokeswoman Diane LeFiles said Wednesday.

"All of their curriculum materials, all of their supplies were lost,'' she said. ''They're really starting from scratch. They've got to order the pencils, paper and paper clips.''

The U.S. Public Health Service opened an office in Tarboro where people can begin claiming caskets that floated out of Edgecombe County cemeteries. Buddy Bell, a spokesman for the recovery effort, said 129 caskets have been retrieved, most from the Princeville cemetery, and 60 others still need to be recovered.

Farmers got more bad news yesterday. State Agriculture Secretary Jim Graham urged them to destroy flood-damaged tobacco leaves rather than risk contaminating other harvested tobacco.

"We recognize this request is severe and costly,'' Graham said.

Early estimates peg flood losses for the state's tobacco crop at nearly $99 million, and all agriculture losses at $1 billion or more. North Carolina is the No. 1 tobacco state.