Weather service memorializes Hurricane Floyd's flooding

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Disastrous flooding that followed Hurricane Floyd into North Carolina has been memorialized in one of the cities that caught the brunt of damage.

The National Weather Service unveiled a commemorative sign Wednesday at City Lake in Rocky Mount, where the water level crested at nearly 18 feet above flood stage on Sept. 17, 1999.

The ceremony is part of the state's hurricane awareness week.

Hurricane season starts Monday, and Gov. Bev Perdue said last week that tropical storms can bring weather-related problems from the mountains to the coast.

Perdue reminded residents this year marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Floyd, which killed 56 people in North Carolina, destroyed nearly 8,000 homes and caused more than $6 billion in damage.

About 4,000 of those homes were in Nash and Edgecombe County, including Gwendolyn Wigen's Rocky Mount home, which was under 4 feet of water

"Being in a flood changes your perspective on life," she said Wednesday. "It'll help keep everybody reminded of what can happen, what did happen and what we hope doesn't happen again."

Wigen had flood insurance and decided to rebuild her home. Five lots of former neighbors who opted for a federal buyout now sit vacant around her – a familiar sight on about 400 acres throughout the city.

In what was at the time the largest single-grant buyout in its history, the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid about $40 million for an estimated 800 homes in Rocky Mount.

They were demolished because FEMA requires that structures not be rebuilt in flood-prone lands.

Rocky Mount is planning to commemorate the actual 10-year anniversary of Floyd in September.

"It's important to remember these disasters, to think back to what occurred and what we can learn from these disasters, as we move forward," Jeff Orrock, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said Wednesday.

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We were here when Floyd hit. In all my years of going through storms such as these, I've never seen anything like this. The back part of our neighborhood was flooded. There were approximately 20 homes that were lost. I-95 was right behind our home and I-95 was covered. When you have entire city that is paralyzed from floods, it is major. To see KFC, Lowes, 301, Chicos, Tarrytown Mall, Winstead Avenue all flooded, it was a tear jerker. We lost the children's museum, we lost the park, the pool was flooded. We were stranded for a week waiting for the water to go down. I saw friends lose everything. I believe every part of RM was affected by this storm. It's been 10 years. I hope to never see another storm like it.

hjandrj
May 27, 2009 1:48 p.m.

No racial or political issue was intended...I just think that Edgecombe County as a whole (mostly Princeville) was more affected (especially because most of the water in Rocky Mount went downstream to Edgecombe Co.).

I do not live in Princeville or Rocky Mount, but I will say this, it was a TERRIBLE incident for eastern NC as a whole. My family farms and we lost millions in crops/equipment, not to mention homes, cars, etc.

Sorry for any misinterpretation of my original comment.

elhj83
May 27, 2009 1:24 p.m.

Why is this a racial thing?

First, unless the dam at the Tar River Reservoir was released, the dam would have busted. Thus, the nice homes by the Reservoir would still be dry but now the people in Rocky Mount and Nashville would have no water supply until the dam is repaired. The choice was to flood homes OR to flood homes and destroy the primary water source for 60,000 people and have to deal with a very expensive repair. No matter what, people downstream were going to get flooded. Why is that a racial or economic thing?

I think people are jealous.

hi_i_am_wade
May 27, 2009 1:09 p.m.

I was working at Chico's in RM when the storm was on the way. I remember seeing the water from the Tar River coming into the bottom floor of Chico's around 7pm or so that night. We were scrambling trying to get home and the streets were already flooding so badly that it took me an hour to get from Chico's to the area where I lived near Golden East Mall. Ive never been so terrified in my life. There was no sleeping that night, nor was there much sleeping for a while after that. Luckily my home was spared, but I lived on Country Club Drive and couldnt get anywhere except the Food Lion at Beaver Pond, which was of course depleted! I cant believe its been 10 years, I hope I never see destruction of that magnitude ever again! Lets remember all the lives lost, not only in RM but in the surrounding areas and pray that we never have to experience the likes of it again!

3kidslady
May 27, 2009 1:06 p.m.

elhj83 - The memorial is going up in Rocky Mount, most likely because we had more damage than anyone else. Flooding in Princeville had nothing at all to do with the release of any water. That's what happens when it rains for 2 weeks (Hurricane Dennis) and then you have another hurricane. If you live down stream you get flooded. Don't make this a racial thing. If it happens to be racial, blame it on Mother Nature, not Rocky Mount.

Ladybug1
May 27, 2009 12:25 p.m.