Carolina floods still forcing thousands to evacuate
The Associated Press
BLADENBORO, N.C. — Florence is by no means done swamping the Carolinas, where rivers remain high above flood stage and thousands of people were told to plan to leave their homes Monday.
About 6,000 to 8,000 people in Georgetown County, S.C., were alerted to be prepared to evacuate potential flood zones ahead of a “record event” of up to 10 feet of flooding, which is expected to begin Tuesday near parts of the Pee Dee and Waccamaw rivers, county spokeswoman Jackie Broach-Akers said.
Residents along the Waccamaw were bracing for water expected to peak Wednesday at 22 feet near Conway. That’s twice the normal flood stage, and far higher than the previous record of 17.9 feet, according to charts published Monday by the National Weather Service, which added that the river level would crest 2 feet higher than Hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Floyd in 1999.
At the same time, the Cape Fear and Neuse rivers also remain swollen, and aren’t expected to return to normal levels until October, the charts show.
The county’s emergency management director, Sam Hodge, said in a video message posted online that authorities are closely watching river gauges, and law enforcement would be going door to door in any threatened areas.
“From boots on the ground to technology that we have, we are trying to be able to get the message out,” Mr. Hodge said, warning people not to wait for an official evacuation order if they begin to feel unsafe.
Parts of Interstate 40 are expected to remain underwater for another week or more, and hundreds of smaller roads remain impassable, but there was some good news: Interstate 95 was reopened to all traffic Sunday night for the first time since the floods, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced.
Mr. Cooper later said that a previously closed portion of Interstate 40 had reopened sooner than expected.
Floodwaters already receding on one stretch of Interstate 40 left thousands of rotting fish on the pavement for firefighters to clean up. Video showed firefighters blasting the dead fish off the highway with a fire hose in Pender County in eastern North Carolina. The local fire department posted online: “We can add ‘washing fish off of the interstate’ to the long list of interesting things firefighters get to experience.”
North Carolina Emergency Management director Michael Sprayberry said major flooding is continuing in eastern counties along the Black, Lumber, Neuse and Cape Fear rivers.
“Florence continues to bring misery to North Carolina,” Mr. Cooper said in a statement Sunday evening. He added that crews conducted about 350 rescues over the weekend and that travel remains treacherous in the southeastern area of his state. But he said National Guard members would be shifting next to more door-todoor and air search wellness checks on people in still-flooded areas.