Janice R. Andrews
Heavy flooding is happening in North Carolina because of a tropical storm off the coast that is dumping huge amounts of rain, especially in Carolina Beach and Brunswick County. In Carolina Beach, it has rained more than 18 inches, and in some places the water level is higher than three feet. Because of the dangerous weather, a state of emergency has been issued and all schools in Brunswick County will be closed.
The storm isn’t expected to get stronger into a tropical storm, but it is still causing tropical storm-like conditions, such as heavy rain and strong winds. The National Weather Service in Wilmington says that the area is experiencing amounts of rain that are only seen once every 1,000 years. In just 12 hours, up to 18 inches of rain fell.
North Carolina’s roads are under water, and people are being told to stay off the roads to avoid dangerous situations. There are flood warnings in effect, and Wilmington will be hit the hardest by the water. As it moves inland Monday night, the storm should get weaker, but by Tuesday, places further north, like Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, could get scattered rain.
The storm will slowly go away by late Tuesday or early Wednesday, but the damage and floods will probably have long-lasting effects on the areas that were hit.
