An Update: Hurricane Florence

As you all have seen Hurricane Florence has devastated the Carolina coast and brought about torrential rainfalls inland. 

This storm has left 18 people dead, thousands displaced due to flooding/damage, and thousands of others without power/ or supplies that they need. Watching the news coverage has been horrendous and hearing stories from friends about their family members who had to flee the coast. Most have no idea what they will return to when the time comes. 

This was the boardwalk at Atlantic Beach. 

The images that we have all seen are unimaginable. 

Seeing the images of Wilmington flooded and damaged breaks my heart. That city holds special place in my heart.

We live approximately 81 miles from the coastline and since Friday morning we have been experiencing unrelenting rainfall in our area, coupled with high winds and it has been awful. We have received anywhere from 4-10 inches daily since Florence made landfall. The likelihood of flooding became very apparent over the weekend. They began mandatory evacuations in our town for those who lived 1 mile or less from the Cape Fear River. This river will flood when it reaches 35 feet, it is expected to reach over 64 feet by Tuesday. It will be devastating.

We live a little less than 10 miles from this river so we won't see flooding due to it but it breaks my heart for those who had to leave their homes. We have several dams in our area and they are expecting those break and to flood as well due to the continuing rain. 

Portions of the 95 have been closed coming into NC, officials are pleading with people to basically go around the state if they must travel North or South. Schools are closed through Wednesday and the situation will be reassessed then. 

I will say that we have been extremely lucky through all of this. We did lose power right before midnight on Saturday night and it was restored late Sunday morning. We have a drain in our backyard so we have avoided standing water in that aspect as well. We have offered to open our home to several friends who don't have power if they need it. Despite a case of cabin fever we are managing okay. 

Florence is finally expected to leave our area late tomorrow. We are so thankful as she has already devastated our city and this state so much.

These are photos of our downtown area, so many places in our city look just like this. Areas flooded and roads closed. It's just going to continue to get worse especially with more rain expected tonight.

I am so grateful to the first responders, federal/local agencies, military, and volunteers that have worked so hard to bring aide and take care of those who have been affected by this storm. 

If you feel so inclined to donate to the relief effort you can visit these sites:

Red Cross

Humane Society

Thank you to all those who have sent good thoughts, prayers, well wishes to us personally and to our entire state.