Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
New Evacuations Ordered Because of Florence Flooding
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
September 21, 2018

Share

WILMINGTON, N.C. — A new round of evacuations was ordered in South Carolina as the trillions of gallons of water dumped by Hurricane Florence meanders to the sea, raising river levels and threatening more destruction.

“I’m so sad just thinking about all the work we put in. My gut is turning up. We put a lot of heart and soul into putting it back up.” — Dennis DeLong, church member
With the crisis slowly moving to South Carolina, emergency managers on Friday ordered about 500 people to flee homes along the Lynches River. The National Weather Service said the river could reach record flood levels late Saturday or early Sunday, and shelters are open.
Officials downstream sounded dire alarms, pointing out the property destruction and environmental disasters left in Florence’s wake.
“We’re at the end of the line of all waters to come down,” said Georgetown County Administrator Sel Hemingway, as he warned the area may see a flood like it has never seen before.
In North Carolina, a familiar story was unfolding as many places that flooded in Hurricane Matthew in 2016 were once again inundated.
Two years ago, flooding ruined the baseboards and carpet of the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Spring Lake. The congregation rebuilt, This year, water from the Little River water broke the windows, leaving the pews a jumbled mess and soaked Bibles and hymn books on the floor.
“I’m so sad just thinking about all the work we put in. My gut is turning up,” church member Dennis DeLong said. “We put a lot of heart and soul into putting it back up.”

Flood Damage Estimated at $1.2 Billion

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster estimated damage from the flood in his state at $1.2 billion in a letter that says the flooding will be the worst disaster in the state’s modern history. McMaster asked Congressional leaders to hurry federal aid.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he knows the damage in his state will add up to billions of dollars, but said with the effects on the storm ongoing, there was no way to make a more accurate estimate.
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center said it was monitoring four areas in the Atlantic for signs of a new tropical weather threat. One was off the coast of the Carolinas with a chance of drifting toward the coast.
About 55,000 homes and businesses remain without power after Florence, nearly all in North Carolina, and down from a high of more than 900,000 in three states.
Florence is blamed for at least 42 deaths in the Carolinas and Virginia, including that of an 81-year-old whose body was found in a submerged pickup truck in South Carolina. Well over half the dead were killed were in vehicles.
Potential environmental problems remained. Duke Energy issued a high-level emergency alert after floodwaters from the Cape Fear River overtopped an earthen dike and inundated a large lake at a closed power plant near Wilmington, North Carolina. The utility said it did not think any coal ash was at risk.
State-owned utility Santee Cooper in South Carolina is placing an inflatable dam around a coal ash pond near Conway, saying the extra 2.5 feet should be enough to keep floodwaters out. Officials warned human, hog and other animal waste were mixing in with floodwaters in the Carolinas.

Creeping Back to Normal

In Wilmington, things kept creeping back closer to normal in the state’s largest coastal city. Officials announced the end of a curfew and the resumption of regular trash pickup.

More than a thousand other roads from major highways to neighborhood lanes are closed in the Carolinas, officials said. Some of them have been washed out entirely.
But they said access to the city of 120,000 was still limited and asked people who evacuated to wait a few more days. They also warned people to not get caught off guard as rivers that briefly receded were periodically rising back.
The storm continues to severely hamper travel. Parts of the main north-south route on the East coast, Interstate 95, and the main road to Wilmington, Interstate 40, remain flooded and will likely be closed at least until nearly the end of September, North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon said.
More than a thousand other roads from major highways to neighborhood lanes are closed in the Carolinas, officials said. Some of them have been washed out entirely.
The flood has been giving so much warning to Horry County, South Carolina, that officials published a detailed map of places that flooded in 2016 and warned those same places were going underwater again. One man had time to build a 6-foot-high dirt berm around his house.
The Waccamaw River has started its slow rise in the city of 23,000, and forecasters expect it to swell more than 3 feet above the previous record crest by Tuesday while still rising. Some areas could stay underwater for weeks, forecasters warned.

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

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

DON'T MISS

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

DON'T MISS

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

DON'T MISS

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

DON'T MISS

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

DON'T MISS

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

DON'T MISS

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

UP NEXT

Golden State’s Jimmy Butler Injured in Game 2 Loss, His Status for Game 3 Unknown

UP NEXT

Jalen Green Makes Eight 3s to Help Rockets Even Series With Warriors

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Directs Investigations Over Gender-Affirming Care

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Cancels Hundreds of Grants for Police, Crime Victims

UP NEXT

Yelich’s 5th Career Slam and Bauers’ 2-Run Homer Power the Brewers to Win Over the Giants

UP NEXT

Happ Hits Game-Ending Single in the 10th as the Cubs Rally Past Dodgers

UP NEXT

Trump: No Plans to Fire Fed Chair Powell, but Wants Lower Rates

UP NEXT

Top Producer at ’60 Minutes’ Quits Amid Trump Lawsuit Pressure

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

7 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

8 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

8 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

8 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

9 hours ago

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

9 hours ago

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

10 hours ago

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

11 hours ago

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

11 hours ago

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

11 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Yastrzemski and Matt Chapman homered as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Thursday ...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

5 hours ago

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

7 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an 'Unleashing American Energy' event at the Department of Energy in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2017. (REUTERS File)
7 hours ago

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

8 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

Chickens sit at a poultry farm. March 12, 2025. (REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo)
8 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

8 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

Candi, GV Wire's Adoptable Cat of the Week
9 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

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

Search

Send this to a friend