Hurricane Matthew death toll rises to 20 in NC

RALEIGH, N.C. — As some in North Carolina returned to a sense of normalcy Wednesday in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, residents near the rain-swollen Neuse and Tar rivers waited anxiously as waters continued to rise through the day and evening.

Their worst days could be ahead, with the waterways not projected to crest until later in the week and then linger at abnormally high levels for days.

The state’s death toll rose to 20 on Wednesday, Gov. Pat McCrory said while in Robeson County surveying the damage around Lumberton, where 1,200 residents were forced to flee quickly from the town of 22,000 after the flooded Lumber River submerged homes, businesses and the town’s water system. Some were rescued by boats. Others were airlifted from rooftops.

“I think Robeson County is the greatest challenge we have at this time,” McCrory said late Wednesday afternoon. “We’ve still got rescue issues at this time.”

The most recent death, McCrory said, was reported in Lenoir County, but details of the circumstances were not immediately available.

Earlier on Wednesday, McCrory said a death had been reported in Wayne County and added that the body of a 51-year-old man swept away by flood waters Sunday in Johnston County had been recovered, as well.

“We’ve had an average of two people being lost a day since this began,” McCrory said.

There have been more than 2,000 rescues performed since flooding forced people out of their homes to higher ground. Eighty of the rescues have been from the air by the N.C. National Guard, State Highway Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard.

While some on the coast and other areas where the flood water has receded began to return to homes and assess the damage, the towns of Kinston and Greenville and others nearby were still preparing for disaster with flood models showing that it could be Saturday before the Neuse and Tar rivers crest through their communities.

Then it could be another week, according to some models, before the flood waters recede to normal levels.

There have been more than 2,000 rescues performed since flooding forced people out of their homes to higher ground. Eighty of the rescues have been from the air by the N.C. National Guard, State Highway Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard.

While some on the coast and other areas where the flood water has receded began to return to homes and assess the damage, the towns of Kinston and Greenville and others nearby were still preparing for disaster with flood models showing that it could be Saturday before the Neuse and Tar rivers crest through their communities.

Then it could be another week, according to some models, before the flood waters recede to normal levels.

There have been 2,300 rescues performed since flooding in the hurricane’s aftermath forced people out of their homes. Eighty have been air rescues by the N.C. National Guard, State Highway Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard. Forty-six shelters remain open, with reports of 3,800 people using them.

Sections of Interstate 95 from Lumberton to Fayetteville remain closed due to flooding. A seven-mile stretch of Interstate 40 near Newton Grove was closed, too.

Although Hurricane Matthew raged along the Southeast coast for two days before breaking up and heading out to sea, the flooding that followed it continues to strike a blow in some of the state’s more impoverished regions where many of those being forced to find temporary housing lack flood insurance and other benefits.

About 1,000 people gathered at the Greene Street bridge over the Tar River in Greenville for a town prayer on Wednesday, as Mayor Allen Thomas and Mayor Pro-Tem Kandie Smith and about a dozen local preachers called for town unity during the trying times ahead.

In the town of Seven Springs, which sits in a low-lying area on the Neuse River in Wayne County, the worst is yet to come, as water that flooded Goldsboro on Wednesday makes it way downstream.

After Hurricane Floyd inundated Seven Springs in 1999, forcing nearly every home and business in town to rebuild, Seven Springs Baptist Church relocated to a spot down N.C. 55 outside the village. Pastor Rick Rigney lives in the parsonage, also on dry land near the church, but many of his flock had to evacuate ahead of new flooding from Hurricane Matthew.

By Wednesday, their houses were getting wet as at least three feet of water filled the town. Others, outside the village, had told Rigney their farm fields were flooding and water was approaching their homes.

Even those whose houses stayed dry have been affected by the flooding, Rigney said, “Because we can’t go anywhere. The roads are all cut off.”

Routes to Kinston and Goldsboro are blocked by flooding or have sections that have collapsed as a result of rushing water. Wednesday, it was still possible to get to Mount Olive, but even that route was down to one lane, Rigney said.

The river is not expected to crest at Seven Springs until mid-day Thursday.

“Then we have to wait for it to recede, and after that there is all the massive cleanup. This is not going to be a two- or three-day fix.”

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Beyond the immediate and pending emergencies, North Carolina has a long recovery ahead.

McCrory said he requested federal assistance for individuals as well as state and local governments for 66 counties. On Monday, 10 counties were approved for individual federal assistance and 31 counties were approved for public federal assistance. Late Tuesday, word came that federal aid would be available to individuals in four additional counties – Bertie, Johnston, Wayne and Wilson. Also, people in Beaufort, Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Hoke, Lenoir, Nash, Pitt and Robeson counties are eligible for federal help.