Flooding from Florence overwhelms North Carolina
At least 18 dead; dams and levees show signs of distress
Storm-weary residents of North Carolina struggled Monday to loosen the grip of Hurricane Florence, the lingering killer that has closed more than 100 roads, cut off power to almost 500,000 homes and businesses and essentially cut off the city of Wilmington from the world.
At least 18 people have died in the wreckage of the hurricane-turnedtropical depression that dumped 30 inches of rain in parts of the state since last week.
Wilmington, a coastal city of 120,000, has been deluged by more than 26 inches of rain since Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Most traffic lights were out, and most businesses and homes were without power.
On Monday, 20 heavy-duty trucks from Fort Bragg were snaking through closed roads, packed with enough food and water for 60,000 people for four days. Little other traffic could get in or out.
“Our roads are flooded,” said Woody White, chairman of the board of commissioners in New Hanover County. “There is no access to Wilmington.”
Elizabethtown, 50 miles to the northwest, rang up 36 inches of rain. Gurganus, 50 miles north of Wilmington, also was hit with more than 30 inches.
The tragedies were widespread. Almost 200 miles to the west of Wilmington, the Union County Sheriff’s Office said swift water rescue teams on Monday recovered the body of 1-year-old Kaiden Lee-Welch. The boy was swept away from his mother after a flooded creek overwhelmed their car Sunday.
Dams and levees in areas pelted by Florence were showing signs of distress as rivers overran their banks and authorities warned of more flooding to come. Landslides have become a concern as well – especially in North Carolina’s western mountains.
Tens of thousands faced mandatory evacuation orders from communities along the state’s steadily rising rivers – the Cape Fear, Little, Lumber, Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers are all projected to overrun their banks. Thousands have taken refuge in more than 100 shelters opened across the state.
Early Monday, the storm was centered about 240 miles west of Charlottesville, Virginia. Florence was forecast to produce “excessive” rainfall over the next days as it heads north; New York and southern New England were awaiting 2 to 4 inches of rain.