Flooding fears surge as rivers rise; Wilmington cut off
Risk to life continues to increase as death toll has climbed to 16
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Catastrophic flooding from Florence spread across the Carolinas on Sunday, with roads to Wilmington cut off by the epic deluge and muddy river water swamping entire neighbourhoods kilometres inland. “The risk to life is rising with the angry waters,” Gov. Roy Cooper declared as the storm’s death toll climbed to 16.
The storm continued to crawl westward, dumping more than 760 millimetres of rain in spots since Friday, and fears of historic flooding grew. Tens of thousands were ordered to leave communities along the state’s steadily rising rivers — with the Cape Fear, Little River, Lumber, Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers all projected to burst their banks.
In Wilmington, with roads leading in and out of the city underwater and streams still swelling upward, residents waited for hours outside stores and restaurants for basic necessities such as water. Police guarded the door of one store, and only 10 people were allowed inside at a time.
Woody White, chair of the board of commissioners of New Hanover County, said officials were planning for food and water to be flown into the coastal city of nearly 120,000 people.
“Our roads are flooded,” he said. “There is no access to Wilmington.”
About 115 kilometres away from the coast, residents near the Lumber River stepped from their homes directly into boats floating in their front yards; river forecasts showed the scene could be repeated in towns as far as 400 kilometres inland as waters rise for days.
Downgraded overnight to a tropical depression, Florence was still massive. Radar showed parts of the sprawling storm over six states, with North and South Carolina in the bull’s-eye.
In North Carolina, fears of what could be the worst flooding in the state’s history led officials to order tens of thousands to leave their homes, though it wasn’t clear how many had fled or even could. The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, said officials were focused on finding people and rescuing them.
“We’ll get through this. It’ll be ugly, but we’ll get through it,” Long told NBC’s “Meet The Press.”
President Donald Trump said federal emergency workers, first responders and law enforcement officials were “working really hard.” As the storm “begins to finally recede, they will kick into an even higher gear. Very Professional!” he declared in a tweet.
The storm’s death toll climbed to 16 when a pickup truck ran into standing water in South Carolina and the driver lost control, hitting a tree, authorities said. Two other people also died in storm-related wrecks, and two more people died from inhaling carbon monoxide from a generator in their home.
Victor Merlos was overjoyed to find a store open for business in Wilmington since he had about 20 relatives staying at his apartment, which still had power. He spent more than US$500 on cereal, eggs, soft drinks and other necessities, plus beer.
“I have everything I need for my whole family,” said Merlos. Nearby, a Waffle House restaurant limited breakfast customers to one biscuit and one drink, all takeout, with the price of $2 per item.
Kenneth Campbell had donned waterproof waders intending to check out his home in Lumberton, but he didn’t bother when he saw the Coast Guard and murky waters in his neighbourhood.
“I’m not going to waste my time. I already know,” he said.
As rivers swelled, state regulators and environmental groups were monitoring the threat from gigantic hog and poultry farms located in lowlying, flood-prone areas.
The industrial-scale farms contain vast pits of animal feces and urine that can pose a significant pollution threat if they are breached or inundated by flood waters. In past hurricanes, flooding at dozens of farms also left hundreds of thousands of dead hogs, chickens and other decomposing livestock bobbing in flood waters.
Stream gauges across the region showed water levels rising steadily, with forecasts calling for rivers to crest Sunday and Monday at or near record levels. The Defence Department said about 13,500 military personnel had been assigned to help relief efforts.
Authorities ordered the immediate removal of up to 7,500 people living within about 1.5 kilometres of a stretch of the Cape Fear River and the Little River, about 160 kilometres from the North Carolina coast. The evacuation zone included part of the city of Fayetteville, population 200,000.
Rainfall totals were stunning. In Swansboro, N.C., nearly 860 millimetres of rain had fallen by Sunday afternoon and 20 other places in North Carolina had at least 500 millimetres, according to the National Weather Service. Another 30 sites in North and Carolina had at least 250 millimetres.
Water on the Cape Fear River near Chinquapin got so high that electronic instruments used to monitor flooding quit working after it became submerged, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The same thing happened on the Trent River.
Still, there was some good news. Power outages in the Carolinas and Virginia were down to about 650,000 homes and businesses after reaching a high of about 910,000 as the hurricane plowed into the coast. Utilities said some outages could last for weeks.
In Goldsboro, N.C., home of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, roads that frequently flood were already closed Saturday by rushing water. Dozens of electric repair trucks massed to respond to damage expected to hit central North Carolina as rainwater collected into rivers headed to the coast.
Duke Energy said heavy rains caused a slope to collapse at a coal ash landfill at a closed power station outside Wilmington late Saturday, but there was no indication contamination had drained into the nearby Cape Fear River. The company initially estimated that about 1,530 cubic metres of ash were displaced at the landfill, which is enough to fill about 180 dump trucks. Sheehan said that estimate could be revised.
Near the flooded-out town of New Bern, where about 455 people had to be rescued from the swirling flood waters, water completely surrounded churches, businesses and homes. In the neighbouring town of Trenton, downtown streets were turned to creeks full of brown water.
The rain was unrelenting in Cheraw, a town of about 6,000 in northeastern South Carolina. Streets were flooded and Police Chief Keith Thomas warned people not to drive, but the local food and gas store had customers. “As you can tell, they’re not listening to me,” he said.