WHITEVILLE, N.C. (WECT) - Heavy rain and wind from the nor’easter caused road washouts in Chadbourn and Whiteville.Emergency crews in Columbus County conducted water rescues from Sunday night into Monday due to multiple flooded roads.Phillip Britt, the Mayor of Chadbourn, compared the heavy rain to Hurricane Florence.“I have seen deep water, but last night’s fell in such a short period of time, it was more than what we have seen in the past. It was overwhelming to the area,” said Britt.Brit...
WHITEVILLE, N.C. (WECT) - Heavy rain and wind from the nor’easter caused road washouts in Chadbourn and Whiteville.
Emergency crews in Columbus County conducted water rescues from Sunday night into Monday due to multiple flooded roads.
Phillip Britt, the Mayor of Chadbourn, compared the heavy rain to Hurricane Florence.
“I have seen deep water, but last night’s fell in such a short period of time, it was more than what we have seen in the past. It was overwhelming to the area,” said Britt.
Britt says the town received over nine inches of rain, with four inches falling within just a few hours. Britt states the rainfall overwhelmed the canals, leading to knee-deep standing water in parts of Chadbourn.
Although the water rose to high levels on the roads, it did not linger for long. The water drained quickly, and most areas in Chadbourn were cleared before 6 a.m.
“The public works have worked really hard. They have made significant strides to move our water out of town,” said Britt. “They have worked on our drainage so much over the last couple of years. They are having a lot of success of moving the water out of town.”
Other areas in the county fared worse than Chadbourn, with Whiteville suffering from severe flooding.
“This water is rising from the water coming from the Chadbourn area,” said Hal Lowder, the Director of Whiteville Emergency Services. “We would have been in a lot worse shape had we continued to see rain; the swap is filling up and overflowing the banks.”
Lowder says that the water from Chadbourn drains into a swamp near downtown Whiteville. The swamp could handle the rainfall, but it overflowed due to additional water from heavy rain drainage.
Downtown Whiteville experienced flooding, leading to several road closures and prompting schools to switch to remote learning on Monday.
Emergency officials are asking people to avoid driving on any flooded roads until the water recedes.
“Don’t pass through flooded waters, turn around, don’t drown. You don’t know how deep that water is, especially in the dark,” said Lowder.