Florence punishes Carolinas with torrential rain, flooding; eight dead

Record ID: 1356430

  • Title: Florence punishes Carolinas with torrential rain, flooding; eight dead
  • Date: 15th September 2018
  • Summary: WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 15, 2018) (REUTERS) PERSON WALKING THROUGH STAGING AREA FOR THE CAJUN NAVY BACK VIEW PF MEMBERS OF THE CAJUN NAVY GATHERED TOGETHER MEMBERS OF THE CAJUN NAVY ASSESSING A MAP OF THE AREA
  • Embargoed: 29th September 2018 20:57
  • Keywords: storm flooding Florence North Carolina hurricane Cape Fear River Fayetville rescue
  • Location: NEW BERN, CUMBERLAND COUNTY, FAYETTEVILLE, WILMINGTON,RIVER BEND, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW BERN, CUMBERLAND COUNTY, FAYETTEVILLE, WILMINGTON,RIVER BEND, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Floods
  • Reuters ID: LVA0048XQLXS7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Tropical Storm Florence dumped "epic" amounts of rain on North and South Carolina as it trudged inland on Saturday (September 15), triggering dangerous flooding, knocking out power in nearly 900,000 homes and businesses, and causing at least eight deaths.
    With flood waters rising rapidly in many communities, stranded people were being rescued by boat and by helicopter, while tens of thousands of others hunkered down in shelters. Numerous roads were closed, and authorities warned of potential landslides, as well the possibility of flood waters imperiling dams and bridges as rivers and creeks swelled.
    "The flooding is real," Cumberland County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe said at a news conference. "The increase in escalation flooding upstream is compounding that and you're going to see a dramatic rise in the Cape Fear River."
    Fayetteville, a city of about 210,000 people about 90 miles (145 km.) inland, issued a mandatory evacuation order for thousands of residents near Cape Fear River because of flooding. Fort Bragg, a sprawling U.S. Army base, is just west of Fayetteville.
    Utility crews worked to restore electricity even as flood waters inundated whole communities. As of Saturday afternoon, about 752,000 people remained without power in North Carolina, along with 119,000 in South Carolina.
    In Wilmington, a city of about 120,000 on North Carolina's Atlantic coastline, along the Cape Fear River that is home to historic mansions, streets were strewn with downed tree limbs and carpeted with leaves and other debris. Electricity remained out for much of the city, with power lines lying across many roads like wet strands of spaghetti.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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