Downpours in North Carolina from Hurricane Matthew trap people in homes, cars; copters pluck some fr

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald-AP

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — When Hurricane Matthew dumped torrential rains on North Carolina, thousands of people found themselves suddenly trapped in homes and cars. Rescuers in Coast Guard helicopters plucked some of them from rooftops and used military vehicles to reach others, including a woman who held on to a tree for three hours after her car was overrun by floodwaters.

In another dramatic rescue, a woman with her small child perched on the roof of her car had to be helped to safety as the waters rose around them, underscoring how quickly Matthew wreaked havoc 100 miles or more inland after sparing much of the Southeastern coast the catastrophic damage once feared.

The storm killed more than 500 people in Haiti and at least 18 in the U.S., nearly half of them in North Carolina. Most were swept away by floodwaters.

Gov. Pat McCrory said authorities were searching for five people and feared they may find more victims. The problems were far from over as all that rain — more than a foot in places — flows into rivers and downstream, likely causing days of major flooding in many of the same places devastated by a similar deluge from Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

FULL story at link.



Read more: http://www.omaha.com/news/nation/downpours-in-north-carolina-from-hurricane-matthew-trap-people-in/article_d6fdccd0-8e53-11e6-9e32-1bf284f8a2f7.html

[misterhighwasted]

1. Sad to hear OS. It must be terrifying for those poor people.

Thanks for your post.