North Carolina braced in wake of hurricane
0 A US Coastguard leads his team down a flooded suburban road in Newport, North Carolina North Carolina is preparing for what could be the next stage of a still-unfolding disaster: widespread, catastrophic river flooding.
Rivers are swelling toward record levels, forecasters warned, and thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate for fear that the next few days could bring the most destructive round of flooding in the state’s history.
The death toll from the hurricane-turned-tropical depression had climbed to 13 yesterday, as hundreds of people were pulled from flooded homes.
After blowing ashore with 90 mph winds, Hurricane Florence virtually parked itself much of the weekend atop the Carolinas as it pulled warm water from the ocean and hurled it onshore.
Storm surges, flash floods and winds scattered destruction widely and the Marines, the Coast Guard, civilian crews and volunteers used helicopters, boats and heavyduty vehicles to conduct rescues.
On Saturday, authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of up to 7,500 people living within a mile of the Cape Fear River and the Little River, about 100 miles from the coast. The evacuation zone included part of the city of Fayetteville, which has a population of 200,000.
In New Bern, on the coast, homes were completely surrounded by water, and rescuers used inflatable boats to reach people.
Kevin Knox and his family were rescued by boat from their flooded home with the help of an army team whose team used a phone app to locate people in distress.
“Amazing. They did awesome,” said Knox, who was stranded with seven others including a boy.
New Bern spokeswoman Colleen Roberts said 455 people were rescued in the town of 30,000 residents. She said the damage to thousands of buildings was “heart-wrenching”.
Across the Trent River from New Bern, Jerry and Jan Andrews returned home after evacuating to find a few carp flopping around in their backyard.
Coastguardhelicopterstook off across the street to rescue strandedpeoplefromrooftops and swamped cars.
The US Marines rescued about 20 civilians from floodwaters near Camp Lejeune, using Humvees and amphibious assault vehicles.
The dead included a mother and baby killed by a falling tree in Wilmington, North Carolina. South Carolina recorded its first death from the storm,after a 61-year-old woman was killed when her car hit a tree.