Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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10 UCW SEPTEMBER 25-OCTOBER 1, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Hurricane Florence was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde hurricane that caused extensive damage in the Carolinas in September 2018, primar- ily as a result of freshwater flooding. Florence dropped 35.93 inches of rain in Elizabethtown, becoming the wet- test tropical cyclone recorded in the Carolinas, as well as the eighth-wettest overall in the contiguous United States. e first major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, Florence originated from a strong tropical wave that emerged off the West Coast of Africa. e system became a tropi- cal storm on Sept. 1 and fluctuated in strength for several days over open ocean. Rapid intensification occurred on Sept. 4–5, culminating with Flor- ence becoming a major Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. As forecast models indicated an increasing threat to the Southeastern United States, North Carolina Gov- ernor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on Sept. 7. Transporta- tion rules for farmers were waived to enable faster harvesting. President Donald Trump declared an emergency in North Carolina, granting the state access to federal funds. Strong wind shear then tore the storm apart, and by the evening of Sept. 13, Florence had been downgraded to a Category 1 hur- ricane, though the storm began to stall as it neared the Carolina coastline. An overnight curfew was established in Lumberton for the duration of the hurricane. Early on Sept. 14, Florence made landfall just south of Wrights- ville Beach and weakened further as it slowly moved inland. Despite mak- ing landfall as a weakened Category 1 hurricane, Florence still had enough wind speed to uproot trees and cause widespread power outages throughout the Carolinas. A ridge of high pressure over eastern North America stalled Florence's forward motion for several days while making landfall. is led to Florence moving forward at only 2–3 miles per hour; the storm continually dumped heavy rain along coastal areas from Sept. 13, when the outer rain bands first began to be felt, to Sept. 15, when the storm was still stalled out only a few miles west of Wilmington. Coupled with a large storm surge, this caused widespread flooding along a stretch of the North Carolina coast, from Wilmington to New Bern. As the storm moved inland, from Sept. 15 to 17, heavy rain caused widespread inland flooding in Fayetteville, Lumberton and Smithfield as major rivers, including the Cape Fear and Lumber, spilled over their banks. Most major roads and highways in the area experienced some flooding, with large stretches of I-40, I-95 and US Route 70 remaining impassable for days after the storm had passed. e city of Wilmington was cut off entirely from the rest of the mainland by flood- waters. At least 54 deaths were attrib- uted to the storm. Property damage and economic losses in the United States reached $24 billion. Estimated insured losses ranged between $4.8–5 billion. One preliminary estimate for North Carolina was nearly $17 billion, more than the damage from Hurricane Mat- thew and Hurricane Floyd combined. Hurricane Florence revisited by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS e first major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, Florence originated from a strong tropical wave that emerged off the West Coast of Africa. Public is invited to a free & friendly open public forum to hear and gather input on the future direction of the Hope Mills community. HM Commissioner Jesse Bellflowers John Malzone, President of Malzone Marketing Delores Schiebe, Exe Director of ALMS House Thursday September 26 th 7:00PM • Meet & Greet 6:15 - 7:00PM For more info: 910-391-3859 or 910-423-4314 Special Guests: present Cumberland County's Community Newspaper" & Hope Mills Community Roundtable Your Future 7051 Rockfish Rd. Hosted by: Your Town Public Invited! Your Hosts: Jan Spell, Bill Bowman and Melannie Armstrong