Charlotte North Carolina News

Officials have now lifted mandatory evacuation orders for both Zones 1 and 2 in Florence County.         

An 87-year-old evacuee from Hurricane Florence became the 33rd person to die from the storm in North Carolina after he fell and struck his head in a Guilford County hotel, state emergency officials said. Throughout the Carolinas and Virginia, the storm has claimed 44 lives. The man’s name, the hotel, time of death, and the place he was evacuated from weren’t available Sunday morning. The death was reported Saturday by the state medical examiner’s office….

New Bern was devastated by Hurricane Florence. When the storm howled through the city at the convergence of the Trent and Neuse rivers, it flooded homes, businesses and streets for days. Hundreds were rescued from New Bern and Craven County shortly after the storm hit, The News & Observer reported. Many more would be rescued in the following days. Swift-water rescue teams converged on New Bern to lend a hand and the city issued a…

A National Guard soldier left his Charlotte home to help with Hurricane Florence recovery efforts on the coast — but he came home Friday to find his house ‘ransacked,’ according to a GoFundMe page set up on his behalf. Luis Ocampo, 24, is a military medic with a girlfriend and a baby, according to the GoFundMe page. While he was away with the National Guard, someone stole laptops, a Sony PlayStation 4, a gun and…

At least three of North Carolina’s wild horse herds are safe and accounted for, according to the organizations that oversee and care for them. But at least one herd, living on a barrier island hit hard by Florence and still inaccessible days after the storm passed, are unaccounted for. Staff are working hard to reach them. While the Corolla, Rachel Carson Reserve and Cedar Island herds weathered Florence fine and are getting back to normal,…

Thousands of dead fish strewn along Interstate 40 have created an unnerving sight and smell for motorists as Hurricane Florence flood waters recede in eastern North Carolina. Images of the piles of fish began appearing on social media over the weekend, including video of members of the Penderlea Fire Department washing the fish off the road with a fire hose. “We can add ‘washing fish off of the interstate’ to the long list of interesting…

A week after Hurricane Florence arrived on the North Carolina shore, roads, homes and businesses from Kinston to Wilmington remain submerged — and some waterways are still rising. Florence “has deeply wounded our state, wounds that will not heal soon. So many people are still hurting,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a press conference Saturday morning. “Many storm victims still need a place to call home for weeks or months.” While there remain reasons for…

It was pitch dark when the levee broke along the Florence-swollen Cape Fear River, stranding 100 people and 33 animals. Helicopter crews from the U.S. Coast Guard and North Carolina National Guard flew in wearing night-vision goggles to find the people and animals, NC National Guard Brigadier General Todd Hunt said at a news conference Friday. Gov. Roy Cooper’s office tweeted a video of Hunt’s remarks. About 100 people and 33 animals were rescued in…

As time progressed, frustrations rose. At one point, deputies told NBC Charlotte they were concerned a brawl would break out. DAV said they plan to give another round of check Saturday afternoon.         

After a historic week here in the Carolinas after Hurricane Florence made landfall, we direct our attention back out into the Atlantic.         

In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, a number of local and national businesses are stepping up to lend a hand and donate funds to aid communities affected by the storm, which has been linked to at least 42 deaths in the Carolinas and Virginia. Florence is estimated to have dumped 10 trillion gallons of rain on the Carolinas, enough to fill the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium, according to a recent estimate from UC Berkeley. Heavy rains…