Hurricanes

Windsor attempts to rebuild following Matthew

Slammed by four historic floods in less than 20 years, Windsor is now attempting to rebuild from Hurricane Matthew.

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WINDSOR, N.C. — Slammed by four historic floods in less than 20 years, Windsor is now attempting to rebuild from Hurricane Matthew.

Business owners spent Wednesday throwing out cabinets, paintings and carpets. Some businesses along King Street were open, but owners were airing out the smell of paint or floodwater.

Mike Baker, owner of the King Street Grill, said his business has spent more time under construction than in business.

"We just had to come in and re-rip and go higher," Baker said.

Baker said he is frustrated that the debris keeps piling up.

"I don't know if things will go back to normal because every time a storm hits, you wonder how deep is it going to get," he said.

Mayor James Hoggard said the town got more than 17 inches of rain from Matthew. Last month, Tropical Storm Julia brought 14 inches.

Rebuilding is now the reality at almost every downtown business.

"You've got to take out what's old and put in the new," said a worker.

That is the motto for those who want to keep Windsor thriving.

"A lot of these buildings are 150 years old. You'd hate to see it turn into a ghost town," Baker said.

According to Hoggard, it took until 2016 to fill all of the storefronts after the flood of 2010. Now, a few businesses have already said they will not be returning.

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