Residents of North Carolina struggled Monday to loosen the grip of Florence, the lingering storm that has closed more than 100 roads, cut off power to almost 500,000 homes and businesses and essentially cut off the city of Wilmington from the world. At least 18 people have died in the wreckage of the hurricane-turned-tropical depression that dumped 30 inches of rain in parts of the state since last week. In Wilmington, officials were planning to fly food and water into the coastal city of almost 120,000 people. The National Weather Service has measured 26.58 inches of rain at the city’s airport since Thursday. “Our roads are flooded,” said Woody White, chairman of the board of commissioners in New Hanover County. “There is no access to Wilmington.” Elizabethtown, 50 miles to the northwest, got upwards of 36 inches of rain. Gurganus, 50 miles north of Wilmington, also was hit with more than 30 inches.
Dams and levees in areas pelted by Florence were showing signs of distress as rivers overran their banks and authorities warned of more flooding to come. Landslides have become a concern as well – especially in North Carolina’s western mountains. Tens of thousands faced mandatory evacuation orders from communities along the state’s steadily rising rivers – the Cape Fear, Little, Lumber, Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers are all projected to overrun their banks. Thousands of residents have taken refuge in more than 100 shelters opened across the state.
Early Monday, the storm was centered about 240 miles west of Charlottesville, Virginia. Florence was forecast to produce “excessive” rainfall over the next couple of days as it heads north; New York and southern New England were awaiting 2 to 4 inches of rain. Isolated areas could see 6 inches, the National Hurricane Center said. But North Carolina was feeling the worst of it. Flooding and “catastrophic/historic river flooding” will continue over much of the Carolinas, the National Hurricane Center warned. Emergency personnel have performed more than 900 water rescues, according to Cooper’s office, and hundreds more are awaiting help. Rescue efforts were complicated by the closure of roads, including parts of interstates 95 and 40.
