Rising river too much for effort to shore up Lumberton levee

Name: Rising river too much for effort to shore up Lumberton levee
Uploaded: 2018-09-17T04:04:03.000Z
Duration: 3 min 27 s
Description: Water from the Lumber River began flowing into neighborhoods in the western and southern parts of Lumberton on Sunday evening, just as it did less than two years ago during Hurricane Matthew.

Water from the Lumber River began flowing into neighborhoods in the western and southern parts of Lumberton on Sunday evening, just as it did less than two years ago during Hurricane Matthew.

Posted 9/17/2018, 4:04:03 AM Updated 9/23/2025, 7:53:15 PM

>> LIVE IN FAYETTEVILLE, THANK

YOU.

THE FLOODING IN LUMBERTON, SOME

PEOPLE THAT SUBVERTS --

SUFFERED THROUGH MATTHEW THEY

ARE LOOKING AT DEVASTATING

FLOODS.

>> THIS WAS TAKEN IN LUMBERTON

TODAY IT IS A PREVIEW OF WHAT

IS TO COME.

BRIAN IS IN LUMBERTON WITH THE

LATEST.

>> Reporter: I AM ON HIGHWAY 72

IN WEST LUMBERTON.

THIS IS WHERE THE RIVER IS

GUSHING ACROSS THE HIGHWAY YOU

SEE THE WATER BEHIND ME, THREE

HOURS AGO NONE OF THAT WATER

EXISTED ON THE ROADWAY.

JUST DOWN THERE IS WEST

LUMBERLAND THAT GESTURES --

WEST LUMBERLAND WHAT -- WEST

LUMBERTON BAPTIST CHURCH THIS

IS PROTECTING THE CITY FROM THE

FLOODS, BUT IT DID NOT HOLD UP.

WE ARRIVED HERE IN TOWN AT 6 PM

TONIGHT AND THINGS JUST GOT

WORSE.

AS EVENING FELL ON WEST

LUMBERTON MANY STREETS AND

YARDS WERE UNDERWATER AND THE

RIVER RISING.

CITY CREWS SPENT DAYS

REINFORCING THE LEVY USING

SAND, GRAVEL, AND CONCRETE, WE

DID A LIVE REPORT AT THAT SITE

WHICH IS BUT INTERSTATE 95.

WORKERS YELLED FOR US TO GET

OUT.

>> ARE YOU TALKING TO US?

>> Reporter: THEY YELLED, THERE

HAD BEEN ARE BREACH IN THE AREA

WITH THE LEVY AND THE AREA WAS

GOING TO FLOOD.

WE CAME BACK ONE HOUR LATER IN

THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE

WATER SWEEPING ACROSS THE

HIGHWAY IS SPREADING INTO THE

NEIGHBORHOODS FLOODED DURING

HURRICANE MATTHEW TWO YEARS AGO.

JONATHAN EVANS AND HIS

RELATIVES LIVE IN THIS

COMMUNITY.

>> HOW FRUSTRATING IS IT?

>> IT IS GETTING TO BE THE

NORMAL AROUND YOUR.

IT IS GETTING TO BE NORMAL.

>> HAVING THIS HAPPEN AGAIN IN

LESS THAN TWO YEARS.

>> PRETTY MUCH.

I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S

GOING ON.

>> WILL YOUR FAMILY LEAVE?

MOVE OUT AFTER THIS?

>> NO, I DOUBT IT.

THE CITY OF LUMBERTON, THE

WATER TREATMENT PLANT IS

STRUGGLING ALL ITS WATER PUMPS

IN THE RIVER AS THEY SAID THEY

ARE DEAD IN THE WATER THEY

CANNOT PUMP ANY WATER OUT OF THE

RIVER AND THEY ARE RELYING ON

THE WELL WATER RESERVES.

AND THE WATER PLANT MAY HAVE TO

GO OFF-LINE JUST AS IT DID BACK

DURING HURRICANE MATTHEW AND

THE RIVER, IT KEEPS FLOWING IT

HAS NOT YET CREST UNTIL -- IT

WILL HAPPEN UNTIL LATE TONIGHT.

AND IT WILL CREST HIGHER THAN

HURRICANE MATTHEW.

>> BECAUSE IT IS DARK OUTSIDE,

HOW DEEP IS THAT WATER WHERE

YOU WERE STANDING NEAR THE LEVY

THAT WAS BREACHED?

>> NOT TERRIBLY DEEP,

KATHERINE.

I WOULD SAY, UP TO HALFWAY UP

TO YOUR KNEE.

I WOULDN'T SAY IT IS MORE THAN

KNEE-DEEP, IT IS NOT VERY DEEP

WATER IT IS CERTAINLY FLOWING.

IT IS DANGEROUS ENOUGH BUT IT

IS GOING RIGHT INTO THESE

NUMBERS SAID -- NEIGHBORHOODS

THAT WERE FLOODED OUT A COUPLE

YEARS AGO WITH HURRICANE

MATTHEW.

IT IS THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD.

>> YES.