Craven County town residents survey Irene flood damage

The Craven County town sits near Adams Creek, a tributary of the Neuse River. Residents said Hurricane Isabel in 2003 was the last time the creek crept into their lives. 

Between 20 and 30 homes were damaged when Hurricane Irene pushed through the state as a Category 1 storm on Saturday, officials said. The creek water receded quickly but left a lot of work for residents like Calvin Hill.

"We got to strip the floors and possibly strip some of the walls," Hill said. 

Hill's refrigerator ended up floating into a nearby cornfield. 

Hill said he wants to stay in the house, which his late father built in 1962, but said he might not be able to stay because it floods there so easily. 

"We might have to (leave) because we keep going through it every storm," Hill said. 

Mary Alice Schmidlin moved to Harlowe last week from New York. 

"Welcome to North Carolina," Schmidlin said as she sifted through debris and damage at her house. "The one thing about it here is the neighbors. Everybody helps everybody, and you really don't see that in too many communities nowadays." 

Nearly 14,000 people in Craven County remained without electricity on Monday morning.