Wayne reels from impact
By Ethan Smith and John Joyce
Published in News on October 10, 2016 10:05 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Janeeka Lunsford, 11, comforts her 10-month-old cousin London Lunsford Sunday as London's mother checks the family into the American Red Cross shelter set up at Carver Heights Elementary School. London came down with a cold Saturday.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
An uprooted tree lies across the 900 block of East Mulberry Street Sunday morning. Three trees fell on the same block, preventing residents from leaving their homes until a crew could clear downed power lines and the trees.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
An aerial view of Claridge Nursery Road from an overpass on U.S. 70 shows flooding Sunday morning from rainwater left in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.
Much of Wayne County remains flooded and one person has died after Hurricane Matthew dumped approximately 16 inches of rain on Wayne County over the weekend.
At least 31,000 residents remained without power this morning, according to Duke Progress Energy and Tri-County Electric. Power might not be restored to several areas of the county until the end of the week.
And Wayne County Public Schools officials have decided to keep schools closed to both students and teachers today and Tuesday.
Residents in Goldsboro and the 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 Saturday and Sunday during the peak of the storm.
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, Cedar Lake as well as the town of Seven Springs.
In the meantime, Whaley said most areas of the city that flooded are now clear of water, 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 happened on Wayne Memorial Drive, the area near 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 also were working on evacuating low-lying areas near the Neuse River.
Wayne County Emergency Operations Center Manager Craig Brown said roads remain the primary concern for first responders .
"As of right now we've got a lot of washouts," Brown said this morning. "The North Carolina Department of Transportation is working to get those roads marked with road closure signs so nobody will get in those washed out areas."
Brown said DOT has closed the northbound lane of U.S. 117 near Aycock Tractor.
And for people returning to work today and venturing out onto the roads, taking caution is necessary.
"Just take your time and be safe," Brown said. "If you have an inkling or idea that it might be unsafe, don't do it."
Any traffic lights that remain out at intersections across the city should be treated as four-way stops, where each car stops at the intersection and drivers yield to people with the right of way.
Brown said Duke Energy and other power companies are working as fast as they can to get power restored, and the county has requested debris management and chainsaw crews from the state to help clear off roads and remove power lines through trees.
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.
Jose Martinez, director of Goldsboro's Public Works Department, said city crews began working to clear fallen trees from the road early Sunday.
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 were preventing crews from making repairs to the power lines, the release said.
The state Department of Transportation is working on blocked roads, and sections of roads throughout the county have been washed out, the release said.
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-vac to dry out his business and start cleaning things up.
Huffman said water drenched the inside of his business, rising up to 3 feet at one point, but stagnating through most of the business at around 6 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