Lee, Moore counties total 5 water rescues before flood watch for Triangle

By Claudia Rupcich, WRAL reporter

Sanford, N.C. — At least five water rescues were reported in Lee and Moore counties overnight and on Wednesday.

A flooded Sanford road was closed Wednesday morning while crews rescued a woman trapped in her car. According to officials with the Sanford Fire Department, the woman was pulled from her car on N. Plank Road near Highway 421. Officials say she drove into floodwaters, which completely submerged her car.

The woman was rescued and is okay. N. Plank Road remains closed between Carbonton Road and NC-421 due to flooding from the Deep River.

According to the Northwest Pocket Fire Department Chief, crews performed another water rescue overnight when a man drove into the floodwaters.

He too was uninjured.

The chief said water on the road is at least 10 feet deep and could be as deep as 20 feet. Barricades were blocking the flooded road, but officials did not confirm that the man or woman drove around them.

In Moore County, Crain’s Creek Fire Rescue told WRAL news they responded to three water rescues on Wednesday morning due to flooding from Little River and Crain’s Creek.

The latest rescue was at Morrison Bridge Road when a man tried to drive through floodwaters. Crews said he was rescued and is okay, but the water was so high it came up to his seat.

Earlier Wednesday, crews rescued two SUVs that got stuck on McGill Road because of floodwaters. The cars were still stranded at 10 a.m.

Firefighters told WRAL the water is starting to recede.

Roads around the Triangle, but especially in Durham and Chapel Hill, were flooded Tuesday morning after heavy overnight rain saturated the ground, resulting in downed trees, school closures and power outages.

Wednesday will be drier until another band of rain moves in again overnight, soaking Thursday. Most of the state, and the entire viewing area, is under a 24-hour flood watch starting 7 p.m. Wednesday.