Calamity: Things look grim now, but Wayne County will survive

Hurricane Matthew has swept through, leaving destruction across Wayne County and large parts of eastern North Carolina. After pouring more than a foot of rain on the ground here, the storm left trees down, roads impassable, thousands without power and water rising in creeks and rivers.

There are tough days ahead. The flooding has only just started, and no one knows how bad it will get. But Wayne County folks are made of stern stuff. We will make it right. We have done so before, and we will do so again.

It will take patience and hard work, but those are things that come naturally around these parts, and they will serve us well, just as they did more than a decade ago when Hurricane Floyd had a similar destructive effect on the region.

People rise to the occasion when times become difficult, and you can expect the same now. Already, organizations like the Red Cross and Salvation Army, emergency services and the energy companies have jumped into action.

Now it will be neighbors helping neighbors. Volunteers lending a hand at shelters. People you don't even know suddenly stopping to help a stranded motorist.

The worst brings out the best. Be prepared to see both in the coming days.

Published in Editorials on October 10, 2016 10:26 AM