In 2011, southeastern North Carolina endured a slew of weather emergencies including deadly tornadoes in April, Hurricane Irene in August, and a massive wildfire that burned for much of the summer.
WHQR’s Asia Brown reports that Mother Nature’s wrath is #7 on our top ten countdown of news stories this year.
Hurricane Irene made landfall near Cape Lookout in late August, devastating a long swath of communities along the East Coast. In North Carolina, seven people died from the storm.
As of this month, more than $67 million has been approved in federal disaster assistance grants for North Carolina homeowners, renters, and small businesses.
And that was just Irene.
Back in April, dozens of tornadoes killed 24 people statewide. Along with the human toll, thousands of homes were either damaged or destroyed.
In addition to the tornadoes and Hurricane Irene, a summer blazed scorched more than 30,000 acres of the Holly Shelter Game Land in Pender County. Cost estimates for containing the fire top $3.5 million.
Tune in all this week as we air WHQR’s 2011 Top Ten Countdown of news stories across the Cape Fear region and state.