Hurricane Florence leaves highway impassable by car

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, (WWAY) —  Flooding caused by Hurricane Florence is continuing to devastate areas across the Cape Fear Region, with some areas cut off from the rest of the state.

Parts of Highway 17 are impassable by car, essentially turning areas like Bolivia or Boiling Spring Lakes into islands.

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office is using an air boat to transport people and supplies across the flooded highway.

“We’re working with DOT to make sure, and with out operation services to make sure that those areas where we have washouts or road concerns, that they’re addressed and we can get those repaired as quickly as possible,” said Sheriff Ingram.

Sheriff John Ingram says flooded and damaged roads are making it more difficult to restore power, water, and other utilities to parts of the county.

“We’ve been assisting the utility providers with getting some of their personnel to critical points, to be able to restore certain services as well. So it’s important to us, so important that we’re assisting them to make sure that they get where they need to be,” said Sheriff Ingram.

The Sheriff’s Office is also using their air boat to transport people in need across the flooded roads.

“If they have certain medical needs or certain issues, special needs that need to be addressed, and they’re generator’s running low, or they don’t have a generator, and they see that their medication is running low, they need to contact us so we can get out there and help them,” said Sheriff Ingram.

Until the floodwaters subside, rescue teams are having to use more extreme methods to be able to reach the people in these affected areas that need help.