Clean up under way after Fay remnants rattled Triangle

RALEIGH, N.C. — Clean up efforts were under way across the Triangle on Thursday after the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay caused heavy rain that flooded roads and homes.

In north Durham County on Wednesday, a lake overflowed then flooded streets and wound its way into front yards along Mason Road.

“We’ve had rains, heavy rains, but never to the point where it crossed the banks and crossed the road as bad as it did,” Mason Road resident Sonja Dixon said.

Beverly Jenkins spent most of Thursday trying to clean up the back yard of her north Durham County home. The weather shifted playground equipment and caused a freezer to flip.

Flood waters were so strong they knocked down Jenkins’ fence and washed two propane tanks into the woods and across the street, Jenkins said.

Most of Wednesday’s damage occurred in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties. Gov. Mike Easley left the Democratic National Convention in Denver early Thursday to view the damage and meet with local officials in Cabarrus County.

Cabarrus officials declared a state of emergency after storms damaged 60 structures and made 11 roads impassable. About 100 homes in Mecklenburg County were flooded, some with as much as 5 feet of water, said county emergency management director Wayne Broome.

Up to 14 inches of rain fell in parts of western and piedmont North Carolina Tuesday and Wednesday. Eleven inches of rain were recorded at the Concord Regional Airport.

“I want to assure our citizens and these communities that the state is going to do everything we can to make them whole,” Easley said in a press release Thursday. “I appreciate the fast response of the emergency personnel across the state who were so well coordinated. Because they were prepared, lives were saved.”