Aftermath
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on October 9, 2016 1:38 PM
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Full SizeMuch of Wayne County remains flooded and one person has died after Hurricane Matthew dumped approximately 16 inches of rain on the local area overnight Saturday into Sunday morning.
At least 33,000 customers were without power, according to Duke Progress Energy and Tri-County Electric. Businesses across the county are dark this morning, the owners of which have no idea when they will reopen.
And Wayne County Public Schools officials have decided to keep schools closed to both students and teachers Monday.
Residents in Goldsboro and the surrounding county woke up to downed trees and limbs, roads washed away or flooded over and dozens of abandoned cars littering the streets as motorists the night before attempted to brave standing waters and failed.
Goldsboro Fire Chief Gary Whaley said flash flooding caused the city fire department to conduct between 60 and 65 water rescues throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning during the peak of the storm. The number of county
Whaley said officials expect the Neuse River to crest at 26 feet.
Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce said the crest would come within the next 36 hours and the mandatory evacuations have already been conducted in the areas of Busco Beach and Cedar Lake.
In the meantime, Whaley said most areas of the city that suffered flash flooding are now clear of water as of Sunday afternoon, but there are still plenty of areas that are dangerous.
"Royall Avenue is completely washed out and it's my understanding that the county is pretty messed up, too," Whaley said.
The bulk of the water rescues during the hurricane happened on Wayne Memorial Drive, the area of Stoney Creek, several areas along the big ditch corridor near Franklin Street and on South Carolina Street, Whaley said.
Whaley added that firefighters and first responders are working on evacuating low-lying areas around the Neuse River.
Three Dudley firefighters were injured either en route to or returning from a water rescue Saturday night at the height of the storm, Pierce said.
"They ran into a culvert on U.S. 13 South and couldn't see it because of the water," Pierce said.
The firefighters were in a brush truck, not a fire engine or truck, but the vehicle did overturn and resulting in minor injuries, he said.
"It's an Army truck, an old military truck that we turned into a bush truck. Someone pulled out in front of them, and instead of running them over they put it in the ditch," said Dudley volunteer firefighter Ethan Sutton. "Our chief (Chris Pearsall) almost lost his ear."
Sutton said the firefighters sustained injuries, but none were fatal.
Director of the City of Goldsboro Public Works Department Jose Martinez said city crews began working to clear fallen trees from the road at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.
"We're still evaluating the extent of the damage, but all of our crews are out and working," Martinez said.
Martinez said city operations are limited by a lack of equipment, but there is no shortage of manpower working to get roads open.
"We've divided the city into quadrants and are tackling it the best way we can," Martinez said.
According to a press release, 60 percent of Duke Energy customers and around 18,000 Tri-County Electric customers in Wayne County are without power.
Wind gusts are preventing crews from making repairs to the power lines, the release said.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is working on blocked roads and sections of roads throughout the county have been washed out, the release said.
Pikeville Pleasant Grove Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ken Jones said the bridge at U.S. 117 has been condemned and the bridge at NorAm Road is out. NorAm School and Airport Roads are stiull under water he added.
"Power is out in Pikeville, but (we) fared much better than the southern portion of the county," Jones said.
Belfast Volunteer Fire Department Capt. Jonathan Holland said his department had a few non-life threatening water rescues overnight and Buck Swamp Road at the s-curve is impassible.
"It is likely to stay that way until later this week," Holland said.
His department is standing by, awaiting the "inevitable storm surge," he added.
Emergency shelters in the county are also being relocated, but where they are being relocated is not currently available.
The lone fatality came at one of the shelters, Pierce did not know which one, but he said the cause of death was not weather related.
"A woman being housed at one of the shelters did pass away last night. As far as injuries, we don't know yet," he said.
Other than the Dudley firefighters, no first responders or city or electric workers suffered injuries, he said.
Water Lines: There have also been reports of water line breaks throughout the county.
Water lines have broken at these locations:
• Two in the Grantham area at Selah Church Road and Westbrook Church Road.
• One on N.C. 111 South near Cliffs of the Neuse State Park.
• One on Woodpeck Road at U.S. 70 and Ditchbank Road.
• One on NorAm Road at Bayer Science Labs.
Homes and Businesses: Countless residents in Goldsboro and Wayne County woke up to trees fallen on their property and severe water damage to their homes and businesses.
Mike Degrechie, who lives at 906 E. Mulberry St., said he was standing at his front door with his grandson when he heard a loud crack and saw a tree come barreling toward the front of his house.
"It tore off the facade of my house. This house is about 100 years old," Degrechie said. "I'm not sure if it did any damage to the structure of the house, but I think there's more damage than what it looks like."
The tree that fell onto Degrechie's house was one of three down in the 900 block of East Mulberry Street Sunday morning.
Degrechie said there was roughly 30 minutes between each tree falling -- the tree that fell on his house fell second.
"The water came up almost to the facade of my house, but it went back down as quickly as it came up," Degrechie said.
Degrechie said he was waiting on city maintenance crews to clear trees out of the street, and would be calling a tree service to clear out his yard.
Until then, he is trapped in his house, he said.
"It's a pain, it's just a pain," Degrechie said.
Several businesses along East Ash Street, including Camron's Clubhouse and Bicycle World, were flooded during the storm.
"It's pretty nasty in here," said Camron's Clubhouse owner Jerry Huffman.
Huffman said he was waiting on power to be restored to his building so he could begin using a shop-vacs to dry out his business and start cleaning things up.
Huffman said water drenched the inside of his business, rising up to three feet at one point, but stagnating through most of the business at around six inches.
The inside of Bicycle World had extensive water damage, also.
"We got here about 7 a.m. and the water was everywhere," Huffman said. "Bicycle World got hit pretty hard, too."
The area on East Ash Street near Stoney Creek Park flooded severely, and Stoney Creek Park itself remained completely underwater as of Sunday afternoon.
-- Staff Writer Rochelle Moore contributed to this report