North Carolina

At least 20 died in North Carolina from Hurricane Matthew

By TOM FOREMAN Jr., Associated Press
By TOM FOREMAN Jr., Associated Press

Gov. Pat McCrory said the death toll in North Carolina from Hurricane Matthew has risen to 22.

McCrory told a briefing in Lumberton on Wednesday that the latest death was reported in Lenoir County. He provided no additional details. When asked, McCrory said he didn't know of any reports of anyone missing.

The governor was visiting one of the areas hit hard by flooding, but he called the residents in Robeson County "the most resilient citizens I have ever met." He called the county the greatest challenge the state has right now because the utilities are disrupted and there are still people to be rescued.

Also, McCrory said people hoping to travel through the area should avoid Interstate 95 because a portion of the road is flooded, and he suggested finding alternate routes.

The state emergency management has listed out other deaths in the state related to Hurricane Matthew.

  • Two people were killed Saturday in Bladen County when a car traveled through a washed-out road.
  • One in Sampson County on Saturday when a male driver hydroplaned his vehicle and struck a tree.
  • One in Rowan County on Saturday when a female victim died in a storm-related house fire. No other details were provided.
  • One in Wilson County on Saturday when a vehicle drove into flood waters.
  • One in Pitt County on Sunday when a female drove into standing water.
  • One in Johnston County on Sunday when a vehicle was swept away when the driver went across a flood-covered bridge.
  • One in Johnston County on Sunday when a vehicle traveling through flood waters ran off the road. Three people in the car were rescued and one other person is missing.
  • One in Johnston County on Sunday when a vehicle traveling on Interstate 95 was swept off the road and into Hannah Creek.
  • One in Harnett County when a male driver drove around a barricade and into flood waters. The state did not release a date for that death.
  • One in Gates County, where the body of a 75-year-old man was located Monday inside a car discovered as flood waters began to recede. The man was considered missing Sunday, with his cellphone's last contact traced to a flood area of N.C. Highway 32 near Gatesville.
  • One man in Wake County who died overnight Monday while heading home from work when a tree fell on his vehicle.
  • One in Wilson County who died overnight Monday in accident when the victim ended up in a submerged vehicle.
  • One in Cumberland County who died overnight Monday in an accident when the victim ended up in a submerged vehicle.
  • Two people died in Robeson County as a result of drowning in waters from Hurricane Matthew.
  • One person died in Columbus County as a result of drowning in waters from Hurricane Matthew.
  • One person died in Lenoir County, the governor said Wednesday.
NC towns order evacuations as flood waters from Matthew rise
Towns across eastern North Carolina ordered residents in low-lying areas to evacuate their homes and head for shelters on Monday as swelling rivers were on the verge of coming out of their banks in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.
The flooding is reminiscent of the destructive Hurricane Floyd in 1999, and had people seeking higher ground for what could be an extended stay, according to officials.
IMAGES: Flooding across North Carolina
In Goldsboro, Dorothy Hooker, 86, sat in a wheelchair lined up with her sisters, Eloise Tatum, 92, and Sadie Chearod, 90, also in wheelchairs. To her right was her husband, Edward Hooker, 87. The sisters live just down the street from Carver Heights Elementary School where they all took shelter Sunday. They evacuated their homes because they feared no one could rescue them if the Neuse River gets too high.
"A policeman came by Sunday, telling everybody we had to evacuated. ... He said they don't how bad it would be," Chearod said. "If we didn't come out and it got bad, they couldn't come get us."
Officials in Kinston and Lenoir County issued a mandatory evacuation Monday afternoon for residents and businesses along the Neuse River.
"If your home or business flooded during Hurricane Floyd, you need to take immediate action to prepare for the possibility of flooding later this week," said Roger Dail, director of Lenoir County Emergency Services. "Even if your residence or business does not flood, access may be severely limited or impossible in the next few days."
According to a document provided by the state Division of Emergency Management, potentially more than 1,100 homes, businesses and other buildings in Greenville along a six-mile stretch of the Tar River could be harmed by the time flooding peaks on Wednesday evening. More than 500 buildings could be affected in Kinston by Friday morning's peak of the Neuse River, while waters at the peak of the Northeast Cape Fear River at Burgaw on Tuesday evening could harm more than 250 buildings in a similar six-mile stretch near a state precipitation gauge.
Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas issued a mandatory evacuation order for areas of the city adjacent to the Tar River, including some greenways and the Town Common. The town also closed some bridges that span the river on Monday, and N.C. Department of Transportation officials told The Daily Reflector of Greenville that the bridges could remain closed into next week.
Duke Energy was working to restore power across the Carolinas, but advised its customers they could be without power well into the week. Bobby Simpson, the utility's storm director, said work crews were poised to start repairs as Matthew hit, but they got a surprise.
"We were ready," Simpson said. "We had resources in place. They were staged, and they were lined up with what we expected to happen. But the punch was bigger. So we've now got more than double the number of resources we originally planned."
Simpson said around 7,000 people are working on repairs, with more workers expected this week.
Transportation officials in North Carolina say problems continue in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.
The Transportation Department said Tuesday morning that problems were being reported across central and eastern North Carolina because of flooding and debris.
Interstate 95 is closed in several locations because of flooding. Major closures are reported on a 15-mile stretch from Dunn to Fayetteville and an 18-mile stretch from St. Pauls to south of Lumberton.
On Interstate 40, a seven-mile stretch is closed from Near Newton Grove and Benson.
A number of other major roads are also closed because of flooding.

Threatened dam in Moore County holding, for now

Moore County officials say a dam that's been in danger of a breech is holding, so far.
Deputy Public Safety Director Scott Brooks said that crews worked until about 2 a.m. Tuesday to get sandbags in place to reduce the threat at Woodlake Dam near Vass. Brooks said crews would be out again later Tuesday morning to finish. He says the work will need to be inspected before residents can return home.
Brooks says he doesn't know how quickly that inspection can occur. He says the evacuation ordered late Monday is the second in the last three days.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for the area in Moore County, as well as Hoke and Cumberland counties because of the danger a dam failure would pose.

Cox Media Group

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