Multiple tornadoes touch down across North Carolina as Tropical Storm Debby pushes through the state

Gov. Roy Cooper held his second Tropical Storm Debby briefing Thursday after touring a middle school damaged in a tornado.

"Thank God the children were not there when this storm hit. What a devastating blow to this school," Cooper said.

NC Governor Roy Cooper gives updates on storm, tornadoes damage

Cooper spoke outside Springfield Middle School in Wilson County. He said the tornado devastated the 6th and 7th grade classrooms but left the 8th grade classrooms basically untouched.

"Looked like an explosion. The window was blown out. What was amazing to me was--a strong brick structure, how many different bricks were everywhere. An explosion is the best way to describe it," Cooper said.

He said school district leaders would be evaluating the school damage and working to develop a plan that allows students of the school to have minimal disruption to their education.

Also in Wilson County, a man was found dead inside his tornado-ravaged home. That man's identity has not been released.

"Wilson County just experienced a tough time, but we're going to get through it by the grace of God." Wilson County Sheriff Calvin L. Woodard, Jr. said.

Shortly after 11 a.m. Cooper, flanked by North Carolina Emergency Director Will Ray, spoke from an emergency center in Lenoir County.

"North Carolina continues to face unrelenting rain and destruction from tropical storm Debby," he said.

Cooper revealed that the state had activated another 24 National Guard members, increasing the total number to 374. Those members as well as other rescue teams have responded to multiple reports of tornado touchdowns throughout the eastern part of the state.

"We ask north Carolinians to be careful, to be safe, to pay attention to local officials. particularly if you live in low lying areas prone to flooding," Cooper said.

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There is intense flooding in Festival Park in Fayetteville on Thursday.

Water can be seen racing along Ray Avenue into nearby grass and the parking lot. It -- at a point -- was knee-high.

The flooding has even forced a large chunk of the fencing down.

A nearby business owner told ABC11 he asked his employees to move their cars to higher ground.

Community parks, neighborhoods flooding from ongoing rounds of rain from Debby.

Fayetteville officials are nearby to make sure no one drives through the water.

In Chapel Hill, residents were asked to evacuate Camelot Village -- a community of condos-- due to flooding. This is located on S Estes Drive.

Property Manager Barbara Jaffee said they are doing their best to stop the water from entering the condos, such as using gel bags to create "a flood door."

"We've got the HVAC systems that are low to the ground, and we're gonna try to cover those for the folks that are not here," she said. "Otherwise, we don't want to burn up the units."

A car is submerged in water just off the shoulder of I-95 South Thursday morning.

It happened near Exit 44 around 7:30 a.m.

According to NCHSP, there was an accident involving a van and the car before it was submerged.

The driver of the car, Corey Carver of Charlotte, said he was driving underneath the bridge and drove through standing water. He couldn't see through his windshield.

The accident happened near Fayetteville at Exit 44 around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. No injuries were reported.

The water then made him hydroplane and hit the van in front of him before veering off the right side of the road, Carver said. He climbed out of the passenger side and walked through water up to his water.

"The moment I hit him, I was in shock," he said. "And I was just making sure that I was okay and climbed out. It was about waist-high and luckily, I'm fine. Other than that, it's just unfortunate circumstances."

NCHSP said no one was hurt in the accident.

It will be another day or two before Carver can get his car removed from the flood.