McCrory visits eastern North Carolina farms after rains
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory got a firsthand aerial look of how torrential rains and flooding affected eastern North Carolina.
During a press conference at the Brunswick County Emergency Operations Center in Bolivia, McCrory said we were very fortunate on how the storm hit us, and that it did not go further north. He said officials are working to repair storm-damaged areas in the southeastern part of our state, and "helping our friends in South Carolina."
"We are here to help them anyway we can," he said.
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McCrory said he took a helicopter tour over many areas of the coast, including Oak Island and Calabash and saw flooded roads, but also people already heading back to the beach and rebuilding.
"I still want to encourage the citizens to be safe," he said. "There are still roads that I flew over this morning that have sufficient amount of water that can kill you. And we don't want that. So please do not ignore the many signs ... If you see a road closure, we mean it's closed. Don't even attempt to ride through it."
McCrory also traveled to a vineyard in Elizabethtown to discuss the heavy rains and their effects on agriculture with Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. Then, they went down to Clarkton to visit a cotton grower.
McCrory said some farmers have lost everything due to mud and flooding. He said officials are looking to see if there is federal and state assistance that can help farmers.
At a farm in Bladen County, 270 acres and 80 percent of the crop was ruined. The owner of the farm says he can't get the machinery through the fields and that bringing in manual labor would be far too expensive.
McCrory was there and saw the extent of the damage.
At an earlier town hall meeting, McCrory met with around 100 farmers.
People took the podium to express their frustration.
"It's devastating... it's devastating news for these farmers whose livelihood is dependent upon this crop. The minute they put their seed in, they're dependent on mother nature," the governor said.
North Carolina farmers suffering from wind or flood damage or power outages can call a toll-free number (1-866-645-9403) set up by the state Agriculture Department to seek assistance.
