Tropical Depression Debby is causing flooding across Eastern NC. What places are at risk?
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Debby’s impact on the Triangle & NC
Tropical Storm Debby drenches the Triangle and North and South Carolina. By Thursday afternoon, it was downgraded to a tropical depression. Here are stories on the impact of the storm.
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As Tropical Depression Debby’s rain bands passed through North Carolina, they caused widespread flooding with emergency officials warning that the threat could linger.
Bladenboro was one of the places that saw significant flooding, with the National Weather Service issuing a flash flood emergency for the area just before 2 a.m. Thursday.
The NWS warning said 4 to 7 inches of rain had fallen quickly, cutting Bladenboro off from the rest of the county and leaving 2 to 3 feet of standing water in parts of the town.
Video shared on social media showed sandbags lined in front of the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy on Bladenboro’s Main Street, with someone sloshing through ankle-high water as they checked on the store.
At 8:55 a.m., the National Weather Service issued a new flood warning for Bladen County, northern Columbus County and southeastern Robeson County based on reports of flooding across that area.
“Despite the heaviest rain coming to an end, previously flooded areas are draining into nearby creeks and swamps,” the warning said.
Starting Wednesday evening, the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office was sharing photos of road flooding throughout the county. Those updates continued as the sun rose Thursday, with flooded roads including low-lying parts of N.C. 133, which parallels the Cape Fear River.
As of 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Debby had brought more than 8 inches of rain to a State Climate Office weather station near Whiteville, with another 7.36 inches falling in Castle Hayne. Other significant rainfall totals included more than 5 inches in Clinton and Kinston.
The flooding threat was making its way northwest Thursday morning, with the National Weather Service’s Raleigh office warning that significant runoff from the storm could mean a flash flood threat through at least Friday night.
In Harnett County’s Lillington, for example, the Cape Fear River had been 2.2 feet at midnight Thursday. By 8 a.m., the river had risen 4 feet, according to data from the N.C. Flood Inundation Mapping and Alert Network, and it was expected to rise to 21.3 feet by 2 p.m. Thursday.
A rain gauge on the Lumber River at Pembroke in Robeson County had recorded 4.36 inches of rain over the last day as of 9 a.m. Thursday. Downstream, the river was starting to swell, rising from 11.4 feet at 7 p.m. Wednesday to 14.4 feet as of 7 a.m., according to FIMAN.
At 8:30 a.m., emergency management officials in Lumberton reported a flash flood, with 2 to 3 feet of water spilling out of Meadow Branch and into North Roberts Avenue, rendering the road impassable.
Debby was downgraded from a tropical storm to a depression late Thursday afternoon.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was produced with financial support from the Hartfield Foundation and Green South Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. If you would like to help support local journalism, please consider signing up for a digital subscription, which you can do here.
This story was originally published August 8, 2024 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Tropical Depression Debby is causing flooding across Eastern NC. What places are at risk?."
