Raleigh residents in known trouble spots brace for potential flooding: 'We get stuck'

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Jabbi Musa lives off Rose Lane in Raleigh and has been rescued by boat in the past.

ABC11 was there in 2016 during Hurricane Matthew as the waters were rising and first responders were bringing people to safety. The area has been deemed a FEMA Floodplain.

Musa doesn't know what Tropical Storm Debby will bring but hopes to not get stuck like last time.

"All of a sudden, water is coming into the car and I get flooded. I jump out. I run out of the car," he said.

Officials from NCDOT and the City of Raleigh both said they'll be closely monitoring water levels at known trouble spots.

There are stream gauges that can inform staffers when areas are flooding.

"What it does is it bounces a beam down to the water, and then it bounces right back up," said NCDOT Spokesperson Tanner Holland. "With that information, we're able to tell exactly what the water level is."

The state has more than 600 of the gauges across the state. There are more than a hundred in the Triangle.

"It's a life-saving measure," said Holland. "We're using that information to make informed decisions and be prepared if anything starts to get close to the bridges. We're going to send to crew out and evaluate the conditions and close it where necessary."

Raleigh also has stream gauges to monitor rainfall and stream levels.

"We can try to prevent flooding as much as possible, but we can't prevent it all," said Raleigh Senior Engineering Technician Kelly Daniel. "If there are roadways that get flood(ed), areas that get flood(ed), it's the saying 'Turn around, don't drown.'"

Musa is bracing for the creek to flood again.

He said, "Since 2016, I've been living here and then whenever there's a flood in Raleigh, we get stuck here."

Raleigh plans on improving safety and access along Rose Lane. It's investing more than $300,000 in the project. There's no date yet when the work will start.