Craven County elderly mother, son explain why they didn't evacuate Hurricane Florence

CRAVEN COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) —

The rescue of an elderly Craven County woman and her son is typical of what first responders have encountered over the past two days according to one of their rescuers.

Christine Wright and her adult son, Terry, had to be rescued from their home in the Antioch Community Friday after they were surrounded by floodwaters – something they say has never happened before.

“I’ve seen some rain now, a lot of water and stuff but I don’t believe it’s this bad as here,” Christine Wright told ABC11.

Wright and her son say that’s why they didn’t evacuate.

They’ve been through numerous storms and were never concerned before.

“I think it’s about ten or something like that. Ten storms,” Terry Wright said adding, “Nothing like this, no. Nothing like this.”

One of the Wright’s rescuers, Ray Griffin of the Little Swift Creeks Volunteer Fire Department, noted that it wasn’t first time he had heard that in the past 36 hours.

“A lot of people say the same thing. Nobody evacuated. We started about 1:30 yesterday morning running water rescue calls and it’s been a non-stop battle ever since.”

Full coverage of Hurricane Florence

The Wrights don’t have a phone so Terry set out on foot wading through floodwaters to look for help.

He managed to flag down a man in a pickup truck.

“When I did wave him down. he was so nice to let me use his phone and, of course, I’m so happy that he did,” Terry Wright told ABC11.

The Wright’s had no idea hundreds of others had also decided not to evacuate.

Hurricane Florence: How to get help during the storm

But they were impressed when t first responders showed up quickly and helped them cross water rushing over their long driveway through the woods and put them in a pickup truck to take them to safety.

“We all need some little help every now and then. I didn’t think we did,” Terry Wright said.

His mother was very grateful and let her rescuers know it.

“I’m glad we’re out too. I really am,” Christine Wright said adding, “I can’t thank these guys enough. I just couldn’t say thank you enough to y’all.”

Downloading the ABC11 app is the best way to stay up-to-date on the latest conditions from Hurricane Florence.