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Hurricane Central

Florence's Devastation: Supplies Arrive in Wilmington; South Carolina Governor Assists in Rescue; Death Toll Rises to 35

By Sean Breslin

February 13, 2019

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At a Glance

  • Hurricane Florence has killed at least 35 in the Carolinas and Virginia during its rainy siege.
  • Floodwaters cut off Wilmington, North Carolina’s eighth-largest city, from the rest of the state.
  • Across the region, evacuations were ongoing as water levels continued to rise.
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Hurricane Florence, now a post-tropical cyclone, resumed its second week of impacts with much of the same – flooding that cut off entire towns, water rescues in parts of the Carolinas that have been inundated, and more tragedy.

The storm is responsible for at least 35 deaths – 27 in North Carolina, six in South Carolina and two in Virginia.

(MORE: Check the Latest Florence Forecast)

Here's the latest on the situation in the Carolinas.

North Carolina 

Supplies arrive in Wilmington: Wilmington's 120,000 residents cut off from the rest of North Carolina by still-rising floodwaters from Florence began to receive food, water and tarps Tuesday. Officials announced Monday afternoon that they had cleared a driving route to get needed supplies and first responders into Wilmington, but they didn't make the route public. About 700 rescues have happened in New Hanover County, where Wilmington is located. More than half of the city's homes and businesses are without power, officials said. Three city's TV stations are in danger of going off the air because they are running out of fuel for their emergency generators.

Don't use map apps: Because of the aggressive flooding, road closures are a fluid situation, and navigation apps are having trouble keeping up. Therefore, officials have warned drivers to not use the apps, as they could lead travelers into flooded or closed roads.

image
A man wades across a bridge flooded by Hurricane Florence in Pollocksville, North Carolina, on Sept. 16, 2018.
(ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images)

Dams, levees threatened: About a dozen homes in Anson County were evacuated Monday night as a precaution when a small dam at a sand and gravel company burst. N.C. Highway 145 was closed from Hailey’s Ferry Road to U.S 74. Earlier in the day, Ashe County Emergency Management officials posted on Facebook that the Headwaters Dam "is fine today." Shortly before 8 p.m Sunday, the emergency manager had reported the imminent failure of the Headwaters Dam in the Headwaters subdivision of Creston. The alert said the dam was in danger of being breached, and it said people downstream of 5010 3 Top Road were being asked to evacuate. Less than an hour later, another emergency was reported at a levee in Landis, but that situation is under control, the National Weather Service said.

Missing child found dead: Union County officials said they recovered the body of 1-year-old Kaiden Lee-Welch Monday morning, who had been missing since he was swept away by floodwaters a day earlier. Rescuers said the child's mother was also swept from the car that she drove into the floodwaters, a WCCB reporter tweeted. She was rescued and taken to the hospital.

Some happy news: About 100 dogs and cats that had to be saved when the roof started to collapse at the Carteret County Humane Society Shelter last week were given free checkups, fed and photographed Monday at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. From there, they will go to other rescue groups so they can be adopted.

I-95 closed: Flooding led to the closure of a huge stretch of Interstate 95 from north of Fayetteville all the way north to U.S. 64 – a span of about 60 miles of the freeway. Officials told drivers to avoid I-95 entirely, and advised them to instead go west into Tennessee and take I-75 through Georgia, WTVR.com reported.

Rainfall records: Five spots have preliminarily topped North Carolina's tropical cyclone rainfall record: Swansboro (34 inches), Hofmann Forest (29.48 inches), Sunny Point (27.44 inches), Nature Conservancy (27.12 inches) and Newport/Morehead City (25.20 inches). The previous record was 24.06 inches from Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

Record river flooding: 

  • N.E. Cape Fear River at Chinquapin: This location set a new record flood level on Sunday, topping the previous record of 23.5 feet from Hurricane Floyd in 1999. "Devastating flooding" occurs across the county once the river reaches 23 feet, according to the National Weather Service. The river gauge in this spot is no longer working, but serious flooding should continue this week.
  • Trent River at Trenton: A new record crest was set on Sunday, surpassing Hurricane Floyd's flood level of 28.42 feet. The entire town of Trenton is flooded at this level. Record flooding continued as of Monday morning.
  • Little River at Manchester: Record flooding is ongoing, topping Hurricane Matthew's previous record flood level of 32.19 feet.
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Old vehicles are surrounded by flood water from the Neuse River on Sept. 16, 2018 in Kinston, North Carolina.
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Power outages: More than 300,000 homes and businesses remain without power in North Carolina, according to PowerOutage.us.

Rescues: Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday that more than 2,200 people and nearly 600 animals have been rescued from the flooding statewide. On Monday, he estimated the number of human rescues to be as high as 2,600 but lowered the number Tuesday.

Toxic threat: As rivers swelled, state regulators and environmental groups monitored the threat from gigantic hog and poultry farms located in low-lying, flood-prone areas. So far, the one lagoon breached and at least seven others were inundated by floodwaters. The state has more than 3,000 active lagoons, according to the North Carolina Pork Council.

Other evacuations: Authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of more than 7,000 people living within a mile of a stretch of the Cape Fear River and the Little River, about 100 miles from the North Carolina coast. The evacuation zone included part of the city of Fayetteville, population 200,000. In New Bern, where residents had to be rescued from flooded homes, Fire Chief Robert Boyd said 4,300 homes were inundated by floodwaters. That's about one-third of all the city's homes.

South Carolina

Governor Spots Stranded Men During Aerial Rescue: In the middle of a Monday helicopter tour to survey damage in Chesterfield and Marlboro counties, Gov. Henry McMaster spotted two men stuck on top of a flooded vehicle and summoned a rescue crew to save them. The two Chesterfield County residents, identified as Joel Dixon and George Love, were taken to safety by a swift-water rescue team from Louisiana.

Waiting on the rivers: All along rivers and tributaries in Horry County, families waited and watched for the flood they're pretty sure is coming. The Waccamaw River was at 15.1 feet by late Monday, four feet above flood stage. It was expected to pass the 17.9-foot record by Friday. Bianca Farewell, 22, says she's nervous about the Waccamaw adding to the foot of water around her Stalvey home. "There’s alligators and everything in that water! If I have to go somewhere, I’m going to go somewhere," she told the State. But if I don’t, I’ll have no choice but to stick it out."

No more time: Emergency crews rescued dozens of families in Conway on Monday. City officials said they made 12 water rescues and Horry County saved about 25 people before 8 a.m., the State reported. “I’ve been in Conway 50 years, and this is the second time I’ve seen the water this high,” Joseph Guidera told the newspaper.

(MORE: Conway Residents Fear Saving Highway Will Doom Homes)

River update: The worst for many may still be coming. Rivers including the Little Pee Dee, the Waccamaw, the Great Pee Dee, the Lumber, and the Black are expected to reach or exceed flood levels this week.

Aquatic activity resumes: At Myrtle Beach, officials announced that the beaches had reopened Tuesday morning and swimmers were allowed in the water again.

Virginia

Florence's Severe Side: One person was killed during a building collapse in Chesterfield County caused when the remnants of Florence spun up several tornadoes across the state Monday afternoon. 60-year-old Ronnie Bishop was killed at the Old Dominion Flooring warehouse in Midlothian when an EF2 tornado caused the collapse.

Flash Flooding: One man was killed in Louisa early Tuesday morning when he attempted to cross Route 607. Rushing waters overtook the vehicle of 59-year-old Richard Edward Kelih Jr., turning it upside down and submerging it.

- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Trinity Methodist Church on Long Avenue is surrounded by floodwaters as the Waccamaw River crested at more than 21 feet in Conway, South Carolina, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. (Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP)
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Trinity Methodist Church on Long Avenue is surrounded by floodwaters as the Waccamaw River crested at more than 21 feet in Conway, South Carolina, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. (Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP)
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