Devastating flooding along NC coast described by Gov. Roy Cooper as something 'never seen before'
SOUTHPORT, N.C. (WTVD) -- Roughly 48 hours after southeastern North Carolina was battered by high winds and 1.5 feet of rain, Governor Roy Cooper joined state officials to survey the damage around Brunswick and New Hanover counties.
On Wednesday, state officials confirmed that Monday's storm turned deadly when an 80-year old man drove into floodwaters near the town of Supply, ultimately drowning. They said upwards of 60 roads across 12 counties remain closed and there are still residents who aren't able to navigate out of their communities.
"When you've got weather people saying this was a 1 in 1,000 year event, that is extraordinary," Cooper said during a news conference at the Southport Fire Station.
The Governor surveyed the damage left behind by this week's storm, from the air and the ground. He said there was no comparison he could draw to the flooding he saw.
"This storm essentially formed right over Brunswick County here and like a firehose dumped this water on them," Cooper said. "It is something that I certainly have never seen before."
A state of emergency remains in place for Brunswick, New Hanover and Columbus counties. State officials said the cleanup process is just beginning; there are still areas that haven't dried out.
"Water's still on roadways that the DOT can't even get to yet because the water is still there. So we know you're thinking that people are going to be really inconvenienced for a while here," Cooper said.
Meantime, relief efforts are underway in places like Southport, which received roughly 18 inches of rain in a 12-hour period Sunday night into Monday.
"It's not a handout. This is a hand up," said Reverend Larry Williams, who traveled to Southport from South Carolina to donate supplies.
Williams traveled with volunteers from the Tabernacle Mobile Food Bank, bringing a semi-trailer full of relief kits with them.
"If they don't have the resources, we've got the resources," Williams said. "Let's join together and let's make this happen. It's our job. It's our duty. It's our civil duty."
Williams said they would be identifying other communities that were hit particularly hard by the storm and pitching in more in the days to come. Damage assessments from state officials are tentatively scheduled to begin late this week or early next week, but the Governor said they're still waiting for flooded and damaged areas to dry out.
