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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

The Worst Of Flo's Winds May Be Gone; Now The Floods Begin

Vince Winkel
Damaged house in Brunswick County from Hurricane Florence

Tropical Storm Florence is still impacting the Cape Fear region – and is likely to continue through tonight. 

Now officials turn their attention to the risk of flooding, flash flooding, and tornadoes. 

Steven Pfaff is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington.  He says there are some intense bands of rain positioned off the coast.

"On top of all the rain we’ve had – some places 10-15 inches of rain, we’re looking for another potentially 10-15 of rain across southeast North Carolina.  And there could isolated higher amounts.  The ground is saturated now, and with this amount of rainfall coming, we’re really concerned that the flooding we saw yesterday will be further compounded and new areas of flooding as a result of these rainfall rates."

There’s just nowhere for the new rain to go, says Pfaff.  So it will turn into runoff and overwhelm the drainage.  Another reason local officials are urging people to resist the temptation to venture out in vehicles.  It only takes 6 inches of flowing water to sweep away a car. 

Rachel hosts and produces CoastLine, an award-winning hourlong conversation featuring artists, humanitarians, scholars, and innovators in North Carolina. The show airs Wednesdays at noon and Sundays at 4 pm on 91.3 FM WHQR Public Media. It's also available as a podcast; just search CoastLine WHQR. You can reach her at rachellh@whqr.org.