When a hurricane like Florence strikes, onlookers may ask, “Who saw the worst damage?”
But enduring a major storm is deeply personal. “If you’re a disaster victim and you’re affected, it’s the worst event for you,” says Jessica Whitehead, North Carolina Sea Grant’s coastal communities hazards adaptation specialist.
Powerful storm surges announced the hurricane’s arrival on Friday, Sept. 14. During Florence’s slow march, extensive rains inundated the Carolinas. Rivers poured over their banks and flash floods menaced.
“It’s not a coastal-only issue,” says Erik Heden, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Newport/Morehead City office.
Florence’s impacts “are felt not just in Topsail, not just in Emerald Isle, not just in Wrightsville Beach. They’re felt in Kenansville — or Duplin County — inland. They’re felt in New Bern.”
The storm took 41 lives in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper reported in mid-November. Ongoing damage estimates were at $17 billion — more than from hurricanes Floyd and Matthew combined.
The photographs herein are just a small representation of what people and communities experienced during and shortly after Florence. Many will continue to face challenges, Whitehead says. “Recovery from a storm like this is counted in years, not months.”
Here’s a look at what areas in various southeastern and central parts of the state have endured.
For more details on Florence, check out these summaries from the NWS offices in Newport/Morehead City and Wilmington, as well as this blog post by the N.C. Climate Office.
This article was published in the Autumn 2018 issue of Coastwatch. For reprint requests, click here.