The muddy Cape Fear River, thick with debris including entire trees, swelled to incredible heights through Fayetteville, coming uncomfortably close to bridges and inundating buildings and ravines along its banks. The river level was near 54 feet by afternoon, still shy of the peak from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 but well on its way to projected maximum of nearly 62 feet by 8 a.m. Tuesday.
How high the river would rise, and what that will mean for thousands of homes and businesses from Harnett County to the coast, was the biggest question Monday after the dangers from flooded creeks and tributaries appeared to diminish. A mandatory evacuation order is in place for anyone within a mile of the Cape Fear in Cumberland County, a distance that comes within two blocks of the Market House.
The true scope of the disaster across the Sandhills remained unclear, four days after the monster hurricane began to lash Fayetteville. Florence's flooding appears to have been much more widespread than Matthew, sparing some Fayetteville neighborhoods that were swallowed by water two years ago but inundating thousands of acres of Moore, Sampson, Robeson and Bladen counties. From the sky were images of rural homes surrounded by brown water, interstates and major thoroughfare resembling rivers, and cars swept off roads and into gullies, the fate of their occupants unknown.
The storm was blamed for at least 17 deaths in North Carolina and six in South Carolina. They included an 86-year-old Fayetteville couple killed when their house caught fire after a power failure. Carl and Patricia Flanagan died Friday night in their home in the Briarwood Hills subdivision.
Residents, some still without power, ventured outside Monday to assess the damage and begin the clean-up. Others crowded into whatever stores and gas stations were open to stock up on supplies and get a break from cabin fever.
Nearly 1,500 people and 114 pets were in Cumberland County's shelters, and another 1,592 evacuees filled shelters in Robeson County.
Florence dropped over 20 inches of rain in some areas, pushing Cross Creek in downtown Fayetteville well over its banks and sending firefighters, swift-water teams and law enforcement on rescue missions through Sunday night. Fears of a potential breach of McLaughlin Lake dam in Hoke County put authorities on alert downstream along Rockfish Creek, which flows into an already flooded Hope Mills Lake. The dams survived.
“The dam is holding and the dam is working properly,” Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner said. “There’s a lot of water down there, but it’s working.”
According to the National Weather Service, more rain is possible until Wednesday, when temperatures warm into the 90s. The heat could pose risks for people still without power. Warner said she has heard from residents frustrated that they had not gotten their power back. The town is served by Duke Energy, Lumbee River Electric Membership Corp. and South River Electric Membership Corp.
Electricity was the least of the worries of families along the Lower Little River. Spring Lake firefighters and Fort Bragg soldiers rescued people from apartments that were rapidly flooding. Major routes through Spring Lake and north of Fort Bragg were under water.
Travel to the south into Robeson County also is difficult. Lumberton, devastated by Hurricane Matthew two years ago, saw flooding along the Lumber River.
Fort Bragg leaders conducted their first fly-over of flood-ravaged parts of the state on Monday, with three general officers surveying the damage from Fayetteville to Lumberton from aboard a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
The helicopter carried Maj. Gen. Brian McKiernan, the acting senior commander of the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg; Maj. Gen. James Mingus, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division; and Brig. Gen. Christopher Mohan, the commander of the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command.
They flew from Simmons Army Airfield south along the Cape Fear River to Elizabethtown then to Lumberton and north along Interstate 95 to the Little River and to the north and west of Fort Bragg before completing the trip.
Massive flooding was sighted in Lumberton, Spring Lake and parts of Moore County, with numerous roadways — including N.C. 87 and N.C. 210 to the north of Fort Bragg — in danger of being covered in floodwaters.
The most extensive damage was seen in Lumberton, where Interstate 95 and numerous homes and businesses were covered by the swelling Lumber.
A Robeson County spokeswoman said 62 people, two dogs and two cats were rescued by boat or military-style MRAP vehicles during the worst of the storm.
The rescues were a joint effort between the city, county and FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Teams, the spokeswoman said.
Without solid numbers on the extent of damage across the region, it's also unclear how long the recovery may take. It could take months, if not years, to fully assess damage and rebuild.
At its peak, the storm caused more than 50,000 Public Works Commission customers to lose power. At the peak of the winds, PWC workers were unable to use bucket trucks to fix utility lines. By Monday morning, PWC was reporting that all but about 7,200 customers had their power restored.
PWC CEO David Trego urged patience.
"Despite dealing with thousands of downed trees that impacted power lines and weather conditions that included heavy rains and winds, PWC crews, our mutual aid partners and other staff at PWC have been able to restore power to over 80 percent of those customers who were out during the peak of the storm," Trego said.
Power to 2,000 customers was restored Monday morning, he said.
Government offices throughout the region remained closed as officials devoted their attention to emergency management. In Cumberland County, schools will be closed through at least Wednesday. Robeson County schools, several of them severely damaged by flooding, may not reopen for some time.
While residents began the tedious work of cleaning limbs, pine cones and other debris from their yards, larger trees are still blocking roadways.
Access to food and gas improved Monday, although it remained spotty. At a BP station on Robeson Street on Monday morning, motorists were seen quickly pulling up to the pumps when they saw a tanker arrive.
It will be a long time before things return to normal, said Susan Holder, an assistant county manager in Sampson County.
“We know that this is disaster response and another cycle of disaster restoration and recovery is next, and we know it will be a long process,” Holder said.
Staff writers Drew Brooks, John Henderson, Michael Futch, Monica Holland, Jaclyn Shambaugh, Sammy Batten and Greg Barnes contributed reporting for this story.
Staff writer Rodger Mullen can be reached at rmullen@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3561.
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