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Robbins Contends With Storm-Damaged Infrastructure

September 26, 2018

Tropical Storm Florence left a trail of flooded roads and destroyed property in the wake of its ruinous lurch through Robbins.

The small community was still reeling from the storm when U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson toured some of the affected areas on Saturday. The congressman was joined by state Rep. Jamie Boles and county Commissioner Otis Ritter.

Their itinerary included a stop at the town's wastewater pump station, which was nearly submerged after the deluge of rain breached the nearby bridge overlooking Bear Creek on N.C. 705.

Floodwaters approached the ceiling of the pump station's 17-foot-tall building, soaking electrical panels, generators and other machinery. The flooding led town officials to issue a temporary notice urging residents to conserve sewer use by using paper plates and keeping toilet flushes to a minimum.

Tommy Gibbons, director of the town's Public Services department, said it could take months to repair the pump station. The town is currently using a bypass pump, on loan from the county, to direct wastewater to the local treatment facility.

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Electric panels and other machinery were damaged when Florence flooded a wastewater pump station in Robbins. (Photograph by Jaymie Baxley/The Pilot)

On a typical day, the facility processes about 100,000 gallons of wastewater. David Lambert, town manager for Robbins, said more than 1 million gallons were filtered through facility at the peak of the storm.

Gibbons, who began working for the town in 2010, said he hasn't "seen anything quite like" the flooding caused by Florence.

"I never would have imagined it would have flooded the pump station or anything to that level," Gibbons said. "I don't know if anybody has seen anything like that here, where our pump stations, all of our essential utility operations and infrastructure were washed out like that."

Based on preliminary measurements, the National Weather Service estimates that Florence dumped 16.5 inches of rain on Moore County. That's more than Hurricane Matthew, which brought about 10 inches of rain to the Sandhills in October 2016.

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Robbins is using a bypass pump, on loan from the county, to direct wastewater to the town's treatment facility. (Photograph by Jaymie Baxley/The Pilot)

Florence caused extensive flooding across Robbins. Impassable pools of water formed on several major roads, leaving motorists with a limited number of thoroughfares.

No injuries were reported in connection with the storm, but there were some close calls. On Sept. 17, a toddler and his parents were stranded after their car was swept away by fast-moving floodwaters on a bridge above Cabin Creek.

The family abandoned the vehicle in the swollen creek. They were later rescued from a tree about 40 feet from the bridge, according to Chief Jarius Garner of the Robbins Fire Department.

"They were clinging (to the tree) for their lives," Garner said. "It's a miracle they were able to hold on for so long."

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Impassable pools of water shut down multiple thoroughfares in Robbins during Tropical Storm Florence. (Photograph by Eden Holt for The Pilot)

When the waters began to recede, town officials found Robbins littered with large tree limbs and other debris from the storm. A second State of Emergency declaration for the town was signed last week by Mayor Lonnie English.

Gibbons said his five-person crew has struggled to keep up with the influx of issues tied to flooding and fallen trees. The town has been enlisting volunteers to help out with cleanup efforts.

Lambert said several groups and individuals have pitched in. On Thursday, players and coaches for the Sandhills Optimist Pirates youth football team cleared tree branches from the lawn of Elise Presbyterian Church and from a property off South Rockingham Street.

Volunteers from the Northern Moore Family Resource Center and the Moore County Chamber of Commerce have also removed debris around Robbins. Lambert said one Good Samaritan donated a chainsaw to the town.

"We have had great volunteers helping us," he wrote in a post shared Thursday on the town's Facebook page. "We aren't out of the woods yet as we have had lots of damage to our infrastructure, but we are all working hard to make the streets feel normal again."

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The Sandhills Optimist Pirates youth football team traveled to Robbins on Sept. 20 to remove debris left by Tropical Storm Florence. (Photograph by Jaymie Baxley/The Pilot)