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North Carolina flood update: Eno river reaches highest level as Chantal wreaks havoc amid evacuations, power cuts
Tropical Depression Chantal causes flash floods in North Carolina, prompting evacuations and road closures, with up to nine inches of rain reported.
As Tropical Depression Chantal's hit North Carolina, Orange County and the surrounding area saw torrential rainfall on Sunday night, which resulted in flash floods and forced road closures and evacuations.
Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall near Litchfield Beach, South Carolina on Sunday. It passed across central North Carolina, where it dumped up to nine inches of rain in a 24-hour period in some places.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service (NWS) released a flash flood warning in the afternoon amid the heavy rains. With this, Town of Chapel Hill started toissue alerts throughout Sunday.
One of those notifications stated that local first responders were “in the process” of rescuing several units within the Camelot Village subdivision in the 100 block of South Estes Drive owing to flash flooding shortly after 9 p.m.
Over the course of the night, the evacuations extended to neighboring locations off Bolin Creek. In an update released just before midnight, the local government stated that the flooding forced over 60 residents to evacuate and that first responders assisted dozens of people in getting them to safety.
Twenty people of Camelot Village were rescued and relocated, while 18 occupants of the University Place mall's 900 Willow apartment complex required temporary housing. Additionally, Chapel Hill stated that two residents were relocated from Bolinwood Condominiums, two from Booker Creek Townhouse Apartments, and 21 from Airport Gardens off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
North Carolina floods: Orange County residents urged to avoid traveling
On Facebook, the Orange County Sheriff's Office issued a warning at 6:49 p.m. about rising waters in a number of areas further north in Orange County. People were advised to stay away from “Churton Street at Orange Grove Road, Old NC Highway 86 at Spring Hill Road, and the Ashbury apartments on Highway 70 West close to the Alamance County line”. In a similar tweet on Sunday night, the Town of Hillsborough stated that roads were flooded all around the town and that residents were urged to avoid traveling if possible.
No injuries or deaths have been reported so far.
Eno River water level surges amid electricity cuts, no power at water treatment plant
The North Carolina sheriff of Chatham County said on social media that over 100 roads in the county were flooded after State Highway 902 collapsed close to Chatham Road.
The Eno River near Durham, North Carolina, rose 24 feet in less than 12 hours, peaking at over 25 feet early Monday morning, reaching significant flood stage.
Late on Sunday, the city of Mebane in Orange and Alamance Counties released a voluntary evacuation order amid worries about the Lake Michael Dam's possible failure. The city says there is no power at their water treatment plant.
Alamance, Orange, and Durham Counties saw about 28,000 people facing power cuts onMonday morning.
