Hurricane's cost, chaos lingers in water-logged North Carolina

LUMBERTON, N.C. — Governor Pat McCrory emphasized Tuesday that the ongoing flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew is expected to continue impacting eastern and central North Carolina into the week.

“Yesterday I saw first-hand the very dangerous conditions that still exist for many people,” said McCrory. “I am extremely proud of our emergency responders on the local, state and federal level, and I am proud of our citizens who are helping each other. I urge people impacted by this storm to take all instructions from local officials. Do not go through standing water. Do not put our first responders at risk in an effort to save you.”

The greatest threat remains inland flooding that will continue into this week in central and eastern North Carolina. The National Weather Service is forecasting major-river flooding with potential record levels along the Neuse and Tar rivers. There is major additional flooding predicted for towns and cities along the Lumber and Cape Fear rivers, along with many other rivers and creeks. State officials are monitoring a number of overtopped or breaching dams in central and eastern counties.

The governor said that resources are in place to respond at identified locations which include ambulance buses, law enforcement, feeding stations, generators, basic necessities, swift water rescue teams, field hospitals, high water clearance vehicles, National Guard and Ambulance Strike Teams.

More than 2,000 people have been rescued by swift water rescue teams and more are expected throughout the day. People in central and eastern North Carolina remain under a flood watch or warning.

The North Carolina National Guard has activated more than 1,000 troops, to assist with recovery efforts. There are also 400 high water and rescue vehicles which have been activated. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to assist with rescues. The National Guard, State Highway Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard have increased aviation assets and completed more than 90 air rescues.

There have been 14 confirmed weather-related fatalities and three people are still reported as missing. Three additional fatalities were confirmed overnight, one in Wake County, when a tree fell on a driver, and one each in Cumberland and Wilson counties, where victims were discovered in submerged vehicles.

McCrory warned motorists to concentrate on safe driving and to never drive through standing water on roads and highways. He also urged drivers not to pass through temporary barriers or barricades.

Numerous major interstates and roads, as well as hundreds of secondary roads remain closed. Among the major roads that are impacted include:

Parts of I-95 remain closed from Dunn south to Fayetteville, and from St. Pauls south through Lumberton
The westbound side of I-40 is closed between Newton Grove and Benson.
Parts of US-70 in both directions in Wayne and Lenoir Counties (east and west of Goldsboro)
Parts of NC Highway 12 in Dare County.

Power outages across the state continue to fall. As of 10 a.m., power outages totaled approximately 255,000 statewide, down from more than 800,000 on Sunday. Utilities are continuing to work around the clock to respond to power outages in affected areas.

Nearly 4,000 people are in 51 emergency shelters in central and eastern North Carolina. In the Lumberton area alone, 1,200 people are in shelters. Food and water has been distributed to those in need, and that effort is continuing. For those needing information, including nearby shelter, food and water and other storm-related details, call 211 for support.

Flooding from Matthew could be worse than 1999's Hurricane Floyd

With helicopters overseeing the rescue operation from above, volunteer firefighters turned their military-surplus truck with 4-foot tires into the dark flood waters to cruise past a mortuary, grocery and homes in part of this city inundated by the swollen Lumber River.

They joined about 200 U.S. Marshals and water rescue teams from as far away as New York and New Jersey focused Monday on retrieving about 1,500 residents who were trapped when the river unexpectedly rushed out of its banks, up their stairways and into buildings like the local school.

[ NC towns order evacuations as flood waters from Matthew rise ]

The half-dozen men from the nearby town of Rayham spent about 10 hours Monday at the rescue work aboard their truck — usually used for fighting brush fires in this swampy, rural southeast corner of North Carolina. They primarily located and ferried to safety rescued residents in inflated dinghies or bass boats to meet the truck on this neighborhood's main street.

"We've got it nowhere near this bad," said Jimmy Hunt Jr., son of the chief of the volunteer fire department in Rayham.

The rescue teams were expected to be back at work across eastern North Carolina on Tuesday as the deluge rolled downstream toward the Atlantic Ocean. At least three rivers were forecast to reach record levels, some not cresting until Friday.

IMAGES: Flooding across North Carolina

The storm killed more than 500 people in Haiti and at least 23 in the U.S. — nearly half of them in North Carolina. At least three people were missing.

The full extent of the disaster in North Carolina was still unclear, but it appeared that thousands of homes were damaged, and more were in danger of flooding.

Robert Barnhill, 83, and his wife Katie, 81, left everything inside their Lumberton home but their medications, a couple of blankets and a pillow.

"The water's up to the porch now, so it's got one more step to go" before entering their home of 35 years, Robert Barnhill said after being rescued Monday afternoon. "I've never seen a flood like this before."

Rescuers still had not made it to all the submerged cars or figured out exactly how many people are missing or dead, county Emergency Management Director Stephanie Chavis said.

"I've been here right at 28 years," Chavis said. "This seems to be the worst one we've had in my career."

In many areas, the storm's aftermath was compared to Hurricane Floyd, which caused $3 billion in damage and destroyed 7,000 homes as it skirted the coast in 1999.

Officials were concerned that other cities could suffer the fate of Lumberton, a community of 22,000 people about 80 miles from the ocean. With electricity cut off in the storm's wake, there was virtually no gasoline, water or food for sale.

The Rev. Volley Hanson worried that stress from the lack of running water and electricity might push people over the edge. Robeson County, which includes Lumberton, had North Carolina's highest violent crime rate in 2014.

"The cash is going to be running out. We've already got street vendors hawking water, Cokes and cigarettes. Cigarettes are at seven bucks a pack," Hanson said. "It's nuts here, and it's going to get worse."

The Lumber River crested 4 feet above its record level Sunday in Lumberton and was forecast to remain there until Saturday. A levee appeared to fail early Monday, but officials later concluded that floodwaters had flowed around it.

River flooding was happening in other places, too. In the tiny town of Nichols, South Carolina, downstream from Lumberton, at least 100 people spent the night on the third floor of the town hall.

Interstate 95 — a major artery for the East Coast — was closed in Lumberton and engineers had no estimate on when it would reopen. Driving was difficult, if not impossible because hundreds of roads were closed, in some cases isolating entire towns. Dozens of school districts and East Carolina University canceled classes for the entire week. Nearly 1 million people in North Carolina and South Carolina were without power, two days after the eye of the hurricane moved out to sea.

In addition to the 14 deaths in North Carolina, there were five in Florida and three each in Georgia and South Carolina. One death was reported in Virginia.

Authorities in coastal Georgia and South Carolina warned residents it may take days or even weeks to restore electricity and clean up all the debris. People who tried to go home but were blocked by authorities who said the damage was still too severe grew increasingly frustrated.

Maureen Miller, her family and dog finally did make it back to their coastal Georgia home. She now wishes she hadn't listened to the dire warnings to leave or drown after finding her house unscathed.

"I will never evacuate again," Miller said. "If we stayed, we'd be fine. I'm sure there are a lot of people who feel the same way."

Matthew's flooding in North Carolina was made worse by heavy rains in September. Many areas east of I-95 got at least twice their normal amount of rain in September, in part because the remnants of Tropical Storm Julia parked off the coast for several days.

At least 17 dead in North Carolina from Hurricane Matthew

Gov. Pat McCrory announced Tuesday afternoon there are 17 deaths related to Hurricane Matthew. The number increased from the 14 he announced earlier in the day.

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.

. Pat McCrory announced Tuesday morning three more people in North Carolina have died in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, bring the number of deaths to 14.

Information from the state Division of Emergency Management or emergency operations center shows 13 out of the 14 storm-related deaths involved motor vehicles. One woman died in a house fire that was attributed to the storm.

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.

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