Topics Related to Hurricane Florence

Surf City is getting a new town hall with the help of more than $500,000 from North Carolina and the FEMA Public Assistance Program.  

North Carolina is in the midst of the largest hurricane recovery in the state’s history: In the past four years, North Carolina has received federal disaster declarations for four hurricanes covering 77 of the state’s 100 counties.

Any time an emergency strikes North Carolina, the Department of Public Safety pulls together as a singular entity and focuses on helping to prevent serious injury, protect lives and

North Carolina Emergency Management has received the 2019 Wade H. Hargrove Community Leadership Award from the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters for its support of the state and North Carolina’s broadcast stations during Hurricane Florence in the fall of 2018.

Hurricane Florence made its landfall in North Carolina more than eight months ago. The historic storm left many homeowners’ devastated and hopeless. At the beginning of 2019, North Carolina implemented the NC Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (NC STEP) program.  The storm’s destruction left thousands without power and damaged homes, and STEP provided a means to help homeowners’ return to their houses more quickly. 

Sherrie Mickelson-Mickelson-Hilliard has lived in her mobile home since 1998 and has felt the impact of Hurricanes Floyd, Matthew, and Florence. However, Hurricane Florence has been the only major Hurricane to cause damage to Mickelson-Mickelson-Hilliard’s home that she and her husband, Rob Mickelson-Hilliard, couldn’t fix on their own. 

WALLACE- For more than 30 years, Susan Johnson has been a resident in Duplin County. Johnson has experienced three devastating hurricanes over those years: Hurricanes Floyd, Matthew and Florence. The aftermath of each hurricane was different. Hurricane Floyd’s flooding in 1999 left ankle-high water in Johnson’s home; however, her home remained dry when Hurricane Matthew subsided.Hurricane Florence was a surprise to Johnson as there was four feet of water inside the home and nine feet of water surrounding the house.

Fairmont – Phostenia McCrimmon, a United States military veteran and member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, has lived in her home since 1980. McCrimmon served in the army for three years before moving to North Carolina permanently. As someone who does a lot of community service within her sorority, McCrimmon was overwhelmed by the help that she received from both Hurricane Matthew and Florence. 

Wallace - Teresa Kelley, a Hurricane Florence survivor, has been a resident of the Town of Wallace in Duplin County since 2000. Her home is a half-mile from the Northeast Cape Fear River on a dirt road. Although the inside of Kelley’s home was not damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, it was surrounded by water 10 feet deep.

When Hurricane Florence made its landfall in North Carolina, thousands of businesses and homes were damaged or destroyed. Joseph Brown’s home in Chinquapin was flooded with five feet of water from the nearby Northeast Cape Fear River, which lies only a half-mile away. Flooding in the area was extensive, stretching 11 miles along the river from Chinquapin to the nearby town of Wallace.