CARRBORO, N.C. — It’s been one year since Chantal crossed North Carolina, producing significant flooding in areas between the Triangle and the Triad, with some areas seeing up to 13 inches of rainfall.
Repairs and restoration continue a year later, and residents of highly impacted areas, like in the Town of Carrboro, are still looking for answers for the prevention of future flooding events.
What You Need To Know
For longtime Carrboro residents Mercedes, Stanley and David Terrell, Chantal was like nothing they had experienced while living in the area.
“We were going to bed and [David’s] car alarm went off and he came down to see what happened,” Mercedes said. “And then he saw what was going to happen when he opened the door, the water just rushed in.”
The street in the Weatherhill Pointe neighborhood quickly turned into a lake. Their garage flooded with around 4 feet of water and about 8 inches in the downstairs area of their home.
“It was also late at night. So it was like, ‘Am I dreaming’ to a certain point? But I feel like the reality set in pretty quick,” said David Terrell, Mercedes and Stanley’s son who was staying with them during the time Chantal hit.
David was sent to gather precious items from downstairs while his parents ascended to the second floor, but other residents faced a far worse fate.
“There was somebody stranded in the middle of the street and the flood because she tried maybe to go to higher ground and she couldn’t … she was screaming,” Mercedes said. She said the neighbor had her dog.
Mercedes called 911 to help rescue her handicapped neighbor, and soon a Swift Water Rescue Team also rescued the family, including David’s dog, Arthur.
The water receded quickly, but the damage was done. Around 45 of about 55 homes in the community were flooded, including the Terrell’s.
“This is the worst situation we have been through in our life. The main event, that affect our health, our life. We were we were displaced for about seven months,” Mercedes said.
Mercedes said she is from the Dominican Republic and experienced flooding regularly in her community but did not expect to see flooding in Carrboro. Compared to Hurricane Chantal, Hurricane Florence’s impact on their town was minor, according to the couple.
“Not many houses were affected. The whole community was not affected. Just the people close to the creek were affected, especially under the crawl space,” Mercedes said.
The Terrell’s downstairs and garage had to be gutted from water damage and lost almost all of their furniture. Volunteers were able to save some of Mercedes art studio in the garage.
At first, the couple hired contractors to help remove the wall and dry out the space, but were quickly connected with the Habitat for Humanity of Orange County.
“I screamed from the top of my lungs and say, ‘Oh, Hallelujah. Thank you God. You know, you answer my praise’”,” Mercedes said.
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, helped restore many homes in the neighborhood, including restoration, appliances, cabinets and more.
The Town of Carrboro gave $100,000 to the nonprofit to help residents, according to Town Manager Patrice Toney.
This aid was crucial for the Terrell’s and neighbors as they got rid of their flood insurance almost 10 years ago.
“We got a letter from the mortgage company saying you’re no longer required [to have flood insurance]. It’s up to you if you want to drop it or not,” Stanley said.
Now, the family is debating whether they should sign back up for the insurance, but are hesitant because of the hefty price tag.
“Insurance would be over $4,000 a year now, where previously we were paying maybe $700 a year,” Stanley said.
Multiple homes in the neighborhood are still undergoing renovations.
The family moved back into the home in February, after Mercedes and Stanley bounced between friends’ homes, hotels, and rented apartments. Their son David had a harder time finding housing for him and his large dog Arthur.
“I was pretty worried that we were going to have to separate at some point. But thankfully it didn't come to that,” David said. “Moving was already my least favorite thing to do in the world. And so having to do it like 5 or 6 times in the span of like a month was it was really jarring and stressful.”
While the family is now happy to be reunited and in their own space, they still have worries. Including PTSD from Chantal and questions about future prevention.
The water came from overwhelmed nearby creeks and rivers in the area, which received too much water from bodies of water like University Lake. According to the Orange County Water Sewer and Sanitation, Univeristy Lake Dam had nearly eight feet of water spillage which filled smaller waterways, like Morgan Creek.
“A short-term measurement could be something like balancing outflows from the reservoir. The long term optimal would be some kind of structural improvements to the dam,” said Stanley.
Recently, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, voted to approve an amended for the area to be added to the Eno-Haw Hazard Mitigation Plan. This plan would help mitigate flood risks in the area.
In an email to the Orange Water and Sewer Authority to learn more about the future of preparation and response of future flood events, OWASA in part said: “OWASA will continue to provide access and information needed to study the flooding of Morgan Creek downstream of University Lake. The future study would define future priorities for mitigation. This study would have to be funded, and we are not aware of funding available for this effort to this point.”
OWASA said they have provided survey data to work with local offices including the Carrboro Fire-Rescue Department, to get stream gauges working properly and calibrated from any damage during Chantal in both upstream and downstream from University Lake.
There has also been discussion on the use of hydrologic and hydraulic analysis using rainfall data to help make better decisions for mitigation, monitoring and response.
The Town of Carrboro has also made strides in helping plan for future events with an Emergency Management Planner with the Carrboro Fire-Rescue Department. Recently, the town has announced a new notification system in partnership with the Towns of Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro called Ready, Set, Go. The service is to help residents get ready during severe weather events and other emergencies.