Officials survey flood damage with eye on hurricane

After surveying the flood damage in Fayetteville on Saturday, U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger expressed concerns about a potential of even greater destruction from Hurricane Matthew, should the powerful Category 4 storm strike the mid-eastern seaboard over the days ahead.

Pittenger and fellow U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson joined Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson in visiting some of the low-lying flood areas and damaged parts of the city following last week’s torrential rains and heavy flooding.

“If there is a hurricane - and there is - it could create greater danger,” Pittenger said before a candidates policy forum at the Crown Coliseum. “It could make the 10-inch rainfall a minor impact compared to the hurricane. We’ll continue to monitor it.”

Hurricane Matthew was barreling Saturday toward Jamaica and Haiti, a couple of countries the storm is expected to hit Monday.

As of Saturday evening, some weather models had Matthew possibly scraping the southern part of Florida.

Possible storm scenarios have already drawn comparisons to the path of Hurricane Fran, which struck the Cape Fear region with ferocity in 1996.

Strong winds and saturated ground led to many trees being uprooted inland, and numerous houses were destroyed by falling trees.

The storm killed 13 people in North Carolina and caused nearly $2.5 billion in damage. More than a million people were left without power.

“With Fran, there was so much rainfall before it came through,” said Jim Arp, a Fayetteville city councilman who is running for the N.C. House District 44 seat. “So much ground was saturated.”

At this juncture, Pittenger said, the preliminary estimated damages from the flooding in Fayetteville had not reached the threshold at which the Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide assistance.

Arp, along with councilman Kirk deViere, were among those checking out the flood damage first-hand, and said the city is still trying to determine the damage.

“He (Pittenger) said the threshold for FEMA is about $13.4 million in damage,” Arp said. “We’re still trying to assess the damage, and the fire department is trying to assess how many people were impacted.

“In Fayetteville, we were very fortunate. We didn’t have any loss of life. Sometimes when things happen at night, it can be scary. In this case, it was a good thing. We didn’t have a lot of vehicular traffic. We didn’t have people trying to cross water that they shouldn’t have.

“While it was dangerous,” Arp said, “it wasn’t catastrophic.”

Pittenger, Hudson, Robertson, Arp and deViere surveyed the flood damage at Festival Park and the Riverside Bait and Tackle area of Campbellton Landing by the Cape Fear River.

They looked at some of the residences, businesses and a church on Murchison Road that had been impacted by flood waters.

“It was amazing to see the high-water mark on businesses and homes,” Hudson said. “And I’ve been to that (Festival) park before. To look at the photos of what was waist-deep water. My real impression is, thank goodness the city and first-responders reacted as quickly as they did. They said they pulled 25 people out of the water.”

Arp pondered the possibility of some governmental financial help, considering the cumulative flood damage in Fayetteville, Spring Lake and Hope Mills, and the fact that Fayetteville and Cumberland County declared emergencies.

“It’s possible,” Hudson said. “Let’s hope we’re done. Let’s hope this tropical storm doesn’t come this way. It could be a continuation of this flooding.”