Residents In Cumberland, Moore Counties Begin Storm Cleanup Efforts

Mary Beth Largent has a big mess on her hands. Monday night, 3 inches of water flowed into her house. Her family had to escape the rising water through their front window. They came home Tuesday to mud on their floors and a big cleanup job.

"We haven't started. It's just too much to take in. We are working on starting," Largent said.

Town officials say the flooding had nothing to do with last month's dam breaks. Six inches of rain within two hours was too much for Rockfish Creek to handle Monday night. Some parts of Hallwood Drive were waist-deep in water.

Ronald King thinks his car is totalled. It was drenched, thanks to the rainy weather.

"It happened so fast I couldn't get to it. Luckily, I saved my two Mercedes," he said.

Other roads in the Hope Mills area that were flooded included Hackberry Road, Cameron Road, Dominique Road, Achilles Road and Ahoskie Road. A mudslide occurred at the intersection of Raeford Road and Cliffdale Road.

Town workers were busy Tuesday trying to clear out drainage lines. With the growth in the area, some town commissioners think the 12-inch lines are no longer big enough to handle the load. They also believe runoff from the new Woodland Hills subdivision soaked Hallwood Drive.

"With all the trees being stripped from the area, it has no way to get back into the ground itself," town commissioner Jerry Legge said.

Town leaders say they will assess whether the pipes need to be replaced. They will also see what responsibility, if any, the developer of the new subdivision has in the situation. WRAL called the developer, Gore Construction, but they did not return the call.

Meanwhile, authorities in Moore County reported significant flooding all over the county, though no dams had broken. Roads ranging from small residential streets to U.S. 1 and 24/27 reportedly were covered with water.