Southeast counties brace for Debby, still recovering from Matthew and Florence

Tropical Storm Debby is expected to dump around 9 inches of rain in counties south of the Triangle, the same areas hit during Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence.

Emergency workers are keeping a close eye on the level of the Cape Fear River, which is expected to rise when Debby drops heavy rain on North Carolina between Wednesday and Friday. Aside from the coast, areas southeast of the Triangle could get the most rain from the storm in North Carolina.

Estimated rain totals from Debby include:

• 10-16 inches for Wilmington
• 8-10 inches for Fayetteville
• 6-8 inches for Raleigh

On Monday, Gene Booth, Cumberland County’s emergency services director, said the county is planning for worst-case scenarios but has not yet activated the Emergency Operations Center or opened any shelters.

According to Booth, the county is ready to activate its emergency response in a moment’s notice.

WRAL News on Monday visited a neighborhood in Gray’s Creek on Penneystone Drive, which was hit hard by both Matthew and Florence when Rockfish Creek flooded homes, forcing residents to be evacuated by swift water recuse teams.

The threat of flooding from Debby neighbors in the area concerned.

“Before Matthew came, it rained about two weeks prior to the storm coming,” said Paul White, who survived Hurricane Matthew. “The concern I’ve got is we’ve had about three weeks of rain and now another one’s coming. It scares me.”

Neighbors who still live on Pennystone Drive told WRAL News they are not taking any chances, and they are packed and ready to evacuate in the event that heavy rain causes Rockfish Creek to start rising.

People can visit FIMAN.nc.gov, North Carolina’s Flooding Inundation Mapping and Alert Network, to sign up to get alerts when rivers near their home are at risk for flooding.

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