Death toll swells to 11 from Florence’s deluge
Flood fears sink in as waters continue to rise in Carolinas
NEW BERN, N.C. — The Marines, the Coast Guard, civilian crews and volunteers used helicopters, boats and heavy-duty vehicles Saturday to rescue scores of people trapped by Florence’s shoreline onslaught, even as North Carolina braced for what could be the next stage of the disaster: catastrophic flooding inland.
The death toll from the storm climbed to 11.
A day after blowing ashore with 90 mph winds, Florence parked itself over land and poured on the rain. With rivers rising toward record levels, thousands of people were ordered evacuated for fear the next few days could bring the most destructive round of flooding in North Carolina history.
More than 2 feet of rain had fallen in places, and the drenching went on and on, with forecasters saying there could be an additional 1 1⁄2 feet by the end of the weekend.
“I cannot overstate it: Floodwaters are rising, and if you aren’t watching for them you are risking your life,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said.
President Donald Trump was briefed by telephone Saturday on Florence’s impact on the East Coast. The White House issued a photograph showing Trump seated at a desk in the residence holding a telephone receiver to his ear. Vice President Mike Pence stood nearby.
He later tweeted: “Deepest sympathies and warmth go out to the families and friends of the victims. May God be with
them!”
In another tweet, Trump said five deaths had been recorded in the storm’s wake. Officials had already raised the death toll to 11 by the time of the tweet, which followed a White House briefing.
Florence was centered about 60 miles west of Myrtle Beach, S.C., inching west at 2 mph — not even as fast as a person walking. Its winds were down to 45 mph. With half of the storm still out over the Atlantic, Florence continued to collect warm ocean water and dump it on land.
In its initial onslaught along the coast, Florence buckled buildings, deluged entire communities and knocked out power to more than 900,000 homes and businesses. But the storm was shaping up as a twopart disaster, with the second, delayed stage triggered by rainwater working its way into rivers and streams.
The flash flooding could devastate communities and endanger dams, roads and bridge.
Authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of up to 7,500 people living within a mile of a stretch of the Cape Fear River and the Little River, about 100 miles in from the coast. The evacuation zone included part of the city of Fayetteville, population 200,000.
Officials in nearby Harnett County urged residents of about 1,100 homes to clear out because the Lower Little River was rising toward record levels.
One potential road out was blocked as flooding forced the shutdown of a 16-mile stretch of Interstate 95, the main highway along the Eastern Seaboard.
In New Bern, along the coast, homes were surrounded by water, and rescuers used inflatable boats to reach people. More than 360 people had been carried to safety since Thursday night.
Kevin Knox and his family were rescued from their flooded brick home with the help of Army Sgt. Johan Mackie, part of a team that was using a phone app to locate people in distress. Mackie rode in a boat through a flooded neighborhood, navigating through trees and past a fence post to get to the Knox house.
“Amazing. They did awesome,” said Knox, who was stranded with seven others, including a boy who was carried out in a life vest. “If not we’d be stuck upstairs for the next how long? I have no idea.”
Across the Trent River from New Bern, Jerry and Jan Andrews returned home after evacuating to find carp flopping in their backyard near the porch stairs.
Coast Guard helicopters were taking off across the street to rescue stranded people from rooftops and swamped cars. Coast Guard members said that choppers had made dozens of rescues in and around New Bern and Jacksonville.
Also, Marines rescued about 20 civilians from floodwaters near Camp Lejeune, using Humvees and amphibious assault vehicles, the base reported.
Retired Marine Garland King and his wife, Katherine, left their home Friday in New Bern and returned Saturday, sharing a kiss and joining hands as they drew near their house.
“It was tough. Wobbling. I was looking for water moccasins to hit me at any time,” he said.
They finally made it, and found a soggy, stinking mess.
“The carpets. The floors. Everything is soaking wet,” Katherine King said. “We’re going to have to redo the whole inside.”
The National Hurricane Center said Florence broke a North Carolina rainfall record that had stood for almost 20 years: Preliminary reports showed Swansboro got over 30 inches and counting, obliterating the mark set in 1999, when Hurricane Floyd dropped just over 24 inches on the state.
Stream gauges across the region showed water levels steadily rising, with forecasts calling for rivers to crest Sunday and Monday at or near record levels. The Little River, the Cape Fear, the Lumber, the Neuse, the Waccamaw and the Pee Dee were all projected to rise over their banks, flooding cities and towns.
Meanwhile, Duke Energy said the heavy rains caused a slope to collapse at a coal ash landfill at a closed power station outside Wilmington, N.C.
Duke spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said about 2,000 cubic yards of ash have been displaced at the Sutton Plant and that contaminated storm water likely flowed into Sutton Lake, the plant’s cooling pond. The company hasn’t determined whether any contamination may have flowed into the swollen Cape Fear River.
Sheehan said the company had reported the incident to state and federal regulators.
Sutton was retired in 2013 and the company has been excavating ash to remove it to safer lined landfills. The gray ash left behind when coal is burned contains toxic heavy metals, including lead and arsenic.
Forecasters said the storm will eventually break up over the southern Appalachians and make a rightward swing to the Northeast by the middle of the week.
Some of North Carolina’s largest public universities decided to cancel classes a little longer because travel remains risky in the region.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University in Raleigh announced Saturday that they would resume classes Tuesday. East Carolina University in Greenville, which is closer to the coast, plans to resume classes Wednesday.