DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- For neighbors living off of Roxboro Street in North Durham along Rippling Stream Road near the Eno River, the storm moved in quickly.
Heather Jacobson was woken up by her dog, Laney, to find the water from the Eno River all the way up to her house.
Thankfully, she's okay today, but is now left cleaning up, saving what she can, and wondering what's next.
She says even though she lived close to the river for years, it wasn't considered high risk.
"Everyone asked, are you getting flood insurance? And you hope this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but the world is changing. The climate is changing. You know, we don't know what's to come in the future," she says.
Just across the street, the Fosters, who have lived here for 40 years, are in the same boat. Their cars were totaled, and the water was blocking their front door.
"You just have to be positive. You can't let this stress overcome you or you won't ever be able to make any progress with this project that we have," says Mildred Harris-Foster.
But the stress can be overwhelming. The Red Cross says, especially with a storm like this that caught people off guard, you have to begin to think quickly once you're safe to try and salvage what you can.
"Generally, when there's these flood events and and water can be very dangerous because once you think the water has subsided, sometimes there is mold and other things. So, trying to save as much as you can immediately," says Cally Edwards with Red Cross.
She says the Red Cross is working right now in the hardest hit areas: Durham, Lee, Moore, Orange, and Person Counties, assessing the damage and doing what they can.
"So there's pockets of our volunteers, usually two or three at a time, that are going in searching for these in communities where we've gotten notice that there's affected residential properties," she says.
But in the meantime, it takes a village.
"Just stay connected to the community using your resources, those things too. And there's a lot of knowledge and expertise among people. I mean, people are always willing to help," Jacobson says.
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