Downed trees, minor flooding reported southeast of Triangle
The Triangle escaped the worst of Hurricane Idalia, but counties south and east of Raleigh experienced minor flooding and downed trees.
In Fayetteville on Wednesday night an ambulance crashed and landed on its side on Raeford Road during heavy rain.
No patients were on board, and none of the three staff members riding were seriously injured. According to a spokesperson for Cape Fear Valley Health, water on the roadway contributed to the accident.
On Wednesday afternoon low lying areas in Fayetteville were seeing minor flooding, including at Festival Park due to Cross Creek overflow.
In Wayne County, Duke Energy crews on Thursday were quick to restore power to 1,000 customers. At noon, only a few homes were still without power.
Resident Duane Greenfield said he was able to prepare for the storms ahead of time, getting his yard ready for the strong winds.
A large tree branch fell in his yard, but his home was not damaged.
In Lillington, severe wind gusts took down several trees and knocked out power to several hundred customers. Since outages in the area were limited, power was restored quickly.
In the Triangle, rainfall totals were minimal, just above 1 inch. Rainfall totals in neighboring counties were as follows:
- Raeford: 3.44 inches
- Fayetteville: 3.14 inches
- Hope Mills: 2.92 inches
- Clinton: 2.70 inches
- Clayton: 2.01 inches
- Kenly: 1.87 inches
Airports in Florida closed earlier this week due to the hurricane. On Thursday morning at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, 8 flights were canceled and 11 flights were delayed, up slightly from Wednesday afternoon. Travelers should check their flight status before heading to the airport.
