Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

46 minutes ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

2 hours ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

2 hours ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

2 hours ago

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

4 hours ago

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

21 hours ago

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

22 hours ago

Cargo Ship That Caught Fire Carrying Electric Vehicles Sinks in the Pacific

1 day ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

2 days ago
Florence Death Toll Climbs to 37. Trump Visits Stricken Area.
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
September 19, 2018

Share

WILMINGTON, N.C. — The death toll from Hurricane Florence climbed to at least 37, including two women who drowned when a sheriff’s van taking them to a mental health facility was swept away by floodwaters, and North Carolina’s governor pleaded with thousands of evacuees not to return home just yet.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, arrived in storm-ravaged North Carolina on Wednesday and helped volunteers at a church in the hard-hit coastal town of New Bern.
“How’s the house?” Trump was heard asking one person as distributed plastic foam containers of food, including hot dogs, chips and fruit. “You take care of yourself.”
Wilmington, population 120,000, was still mostly an island surrounded by floodwaters, and people waited for hours Tuesday for handouts of food, water and tarps. Thousands of others around the state waited in shelters for the all-clear.
“I know it was hard to leave home, and it is even harder to wait and wonder whether you even have a home to go back to,” Gov. Roy Cooper said.

Storm Dumped More Than 6.5 Inches of Rain

After submerging North Carolina with nearly 3 feet of rain, the storm dumped more than 6.5 inches of rain in the Northeast, where it caused flash flooding.

“I know for many people this feels like a nightmare that just won’t end.” — Gov. Roy Cooper
Cooper warned that the flooding is far from over and will get worse in places.
“I know for many people this feels like a nightmare that just won’t end,” he said.
Addressing roughly 10,000 people who remain in shelters and “countless more” staying elsewhere, Cooper urged them to stay put for now, particularly those from the hardest-hit coastal counties that include Wilmington, near where Florence blew ashore on Friday.
Roads remain treacherous, he said, and some are still being closed for the first time as rivers swelled by torrential rains inland drain toward the Atlantic.
At least 27 of the deaths happened in North Carolina.

Two Women Died on Tuesday Evening

In South Carolina, two women died on Tuesday evening when floodwaters from the Little Pee Dee River engulfed the van taking them to a mental health facility, authorities said.
The risk of environmental damage mounted, as human and animal waste was washed into the swirling floodwaters.
More than 5 million gallons of partially treated sewage spilled into the Cape Fear River after power went out at a treatment plant, officials said, and the earthen dam of a pond holding hog waste was breached, spilling its contents. The flooding killed an estimated 3.4 million chickens and 5,500 hogs on farms.
In Wilmington on Tuesday, workers began handing out supplies using a system resembling a giant fast-food drive-thru: Drivers pulled up to a line of pallets, placed an order and left without having to get out. A woman blew a whistle each time drivers had to pull forward.
Todd Tremain needed tarps to cover up spots where Florence’s winds ripped shingles off his roof. Others got a case of bottled water or military MREs, or field rations. An olive-drab military forklift moved around huge pallets loaded with supplies.

Describing Life Post-Florence

Brandon Echavarrieta struggled to stay composed as he described life post-Florence: no power for days, rotted meat in the freezer, no water or food and just one bath in a week.

“We’ve never had it at those levels before, so we don’t really know what the impact will be just yet.” — Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin
“It’s been pretty bad,” said Echavarrieta, 34, his voice breaking.
About 3,500 vehicles came through for supplies on the first day they were available, county officials said in a Facebook post.
Supplies have been brought into the city by big military trucks and helicopters,
At Fayetteville, about 100 miles inland, near the Army’s sprawling Fort Bragg, flooding from Cape Fear River got so bad that authorities closed a vehicle bridge after the water began touching girders supporting the span’s top deck.
Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin said it was unclear if the bridge was threatened.
“We’ve never had it at those levels before, so we don’t really know what the impact will be just yet,” he said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustees Will Get Automatic Raises on Tuesday

DON'T MISS

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

DON'T MISS

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

DON'T MISS

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

DON'T MISS

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

DON'T MISS

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

DON'T MISS

Calwa Park Sitting on $7.4M in Grants. Where is New Pool, Other Upgrades?

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Teisha Zonnette Thomas

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

Tesla Executive, Elon Musk Confidant Leaves EV Maker, Bloomberg News Reports

UP NEXT

How a Birthday Boat Ride on Lake Tahoe Turned Tragic

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

UP NEXT

Florida to Build ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center for Migrants in Everglades

UP NEXT

Americans Worry Conflict With Iran Could Escalate, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

UP NEXT

Advisory Warns of ‘Heightened Threat Environment’ in US After Iran Strikes

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

2 hours ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

2 hours ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

2 hours ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

2 hours ago

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

2 hours ago

Calwa Park Sitting on $7.4M in Grants. Where is New Pool, Other Upgrades?

3 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Teisha Zonnette Thomas

3 hours ago

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

4 hours ago

Hawaiian Airlines Hit by Cyber Attack

19 hours ago

US House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

20 hours ago

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday preserved a key element of the Obamacare law that helps guarantee that health insurers cover p...

17 minutes ago

Obamacare Sign in San Ysidro, California
17 minutes ago

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

Pride Flags Fly in New York
46 minutes ago

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

1 hour ago

Fresno Unified Trustees Will Get Automatic Raises on Tuesday

2 hours ago

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

Olga Urbina carries baby Ares Webster as demonstrators rally on the day the Supreme Court justices hear oral arguments over U.S. President Donald Trump's bid to broadly enforce his executive order to restrict automatic birthright citizenship, during a protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 15, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to the press after a hearing on the use of National Guard troops amid federal immigration sweeps, at the California State Supreme Court in San Francisco, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters FIle)
2 hours ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

fresno
2 hours ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

Ringo Is GV Wire's Adoptable Pet of the Week, June 27, 2025
2 hours ago

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend