County: River will top out over 30 feet
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on October 11, 2016 5:12 PM
Wayne County first responders have conducted approximately 853 water rescues -- 125 in the city alone -- since Hurricane Matthew first impacted the area, according to a county news release.
The county's 911 center has received an average of 300 calls a day totaling 2,245 at the time the release was issued late-Tuesday.
Firefighters, law enforcement personnel and EMS workers have braved hurricane-force winds, flash flooding and are now facing dangerous high water conditions, risking their own lives to save the lives of others, the release said.
Wayne County spokesperson Tracie Davis said the worst is not yet over.
"As you know the flood stage for the (Neuse) River is 18 feet, as of about 10 or 11 a.m. this morning we were at about 28 feet," Davis said.
"We are currently at 29.28 feet and the water is still rising."
Davis said the latest projection puts the water at or above 30 feet -- well above the record levels endured during Hurricane Floyd in 1999 -- by late this evening . The water will remain that high through Wednesday before it begins to recede, she said.
Ken Derksen, public information officer for Wayne County Public Schools, has been helping out at the Wayne County Office of Emergency Services Emergency Operations Center, or EOC.
He said the biggest thing citizens can do to help right no is not add to the number of people in need of rescue by avoiding driving into standing water and by not going out on their private boats even with the best of intentions.
"We don't need anyone injuring the first responders or causing a situation for themselves where they need help," he said.
Additionally, the nightly curfew put in place by Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce is still in effect -- the curfew runs from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. -- and applies to everyone except those traveling to and from work.
A current list of road closures is available at www.newsargus.com. Residents who live in county water districts are still being encouraged to boil their water, the news release said.
City officials reiterated Tuesday that the city's water is safe and that the water treatment plant is under no threat.
"This event is still ongoing," Derksen said. "What we are dealing with is still the runoff from Hurricane Matthew. We have yet to receive the water from Johnston County and Wake County."
Those eager to lend assistance to the countless residents displaced or in need, and who can safely make it across roadways into Goldsboro, can drop off donated goods at the Wayne Center at the corner of George and Chestnut streets, the release said.
Any family member seeking to contact a loved one being housed in any of the county shelters can look on the Red Cross Safe and Well web site at www.safeandwell.communityos.org.
There is no guarantee the site will be able to locate a loved one at the shelters, but it might, Derksen said.
"Not all of the people in our shelters are registering," he cautioned.
Below is a list of potential issues that can arise at various levels above flood stage as the river rises.
• 35 The Goldsboro waste water treatment plant is threatened.
• 31 Flooding reaches the base of the SR1915 bridge.
• 26 Flooding begins in the village of Seven Springs.
• 23 Strobe lights at the end of the runway at Seymour Johnson Air Force base are flooded.
• 22.5 Evacuation of some homes in the Mar-Mac area and possibly the Buckhorn Island subdivision may be necessary.
• 22 Flooding begins on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
• 21 Riverview Trailer Park homes and Stevens Mill Road begin to flood.
• 20 Arrington Bridge Road and access roads around Seymour Johnson Air Force Base flood.
• 19.5 Ferry Bridge Road begins to flood.
• 18 Minor flood stage. Water overflows the banks at the SR1915 bridge and upstream of the US117 bridge.