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Families, officials assess flood damage in Cumberland County

After nearly 10 inches of rain fell in parts of Cumberland and Harnett counties earlier this week, families were continuing to clean up on Friday as the water slowly receded.

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HOPE MILLS, N.C. — After nearly 10 inches of rain fell in parts of Cumberland and Harnett counties earlier this week, families were continuing to clean up on Friday as the water slowly receded.

Asphalt on Thompson Road near Bunnlevel was completely washed away by the rushing water, causing the drainage pipes to become exposed.

Nick Tennyson, the secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, said it will take some time to make all the necessary repairs.

"Well, it's a four-week job once we can get to it," he said. "The problem is we first have to dry out enough to be able to get started on the work. Once we can get started, a month or so."

Tennyson also made a stop on Norrington Road to assess damage. The road is closed to traffic because about 1.5 feet of water is running over it.

Tabitha and Nick Davis have a home on Cameron Road in Hope Mills. Tabitha Davis said in three hours the water rose inside the home about 4.5 feet.

"We didn't think it was going to come up this far so we started moving stuff out of our lower den and ... it just started coming in faster and faster," she said. "We were just trying to get everything as high as we could."

The Davis' home sits near Little Rockfish Creek. At one point they had to use their kayak to shuttle in and out of the house to save things.

Shania Williams left behind a house where flooding had reached the roof. On Friday night, she returned to Cameron Road with her brother and roommate, Cleveland Williams.

"I didn't think the water would take to it like that. It brought stuff from the back of the house to the front," he said. "It knocked cabinets off the wall."

The family does not have flood insurance, so they posted a sign on the front lawn with a link to a GoFundMe page.

"We don't even know where to start," Shania Williams said.

Wendy Yuse and her husband Mark are in the same situation. They live along the same flooded creek on Millbridge Road.

"My home is destroyed. I have no place to live," Yuse said.

Water knocked out windows as it moved through their home. A room was pulled off the back of the house and rolled into the back yard.

"We went inside and everything is just swirled about. It's a war zone," Yuse said. "I wasn't prepared for this. It's like someone swept the carpet from underneath us."

Also in Hope Mills, the flooding caused a set back to the construction of the new dam. The heavy rains washed away sand bags that were diverting water away from construction.

"Is it going to delay us? We don't quite know. It's the work they have been working on for the past two weeks," Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner said. "So, at least two weeks of work has gone down stream."

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