Month: September 2018

Brind’Amour, Canes get started Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour discusses a 4-1 win at Tampa Bay in the team’s first preseason game, the home game Sept. 19, 2018 against the Lightning and the play of rookie Andrei Svechnikov after practice at PNC Arena.

All Johnston County students will be eligible for free breakfast and lunch in October as part of the Presidential Declaration for Disaster, the school system announced Sunday. As a result of Hurricane Florence, the school system of 37,000 students was closed for almost a week. The storm also caused flooding on major highways in the county, including some parts of Interstates 40 and 95. The free meals are for all students, regardless of meal account…

On to the real thing. The Carolina Hurricanes closed out an encouraging preseason schedule with an intense game against the Nashville Predators on Sunday at PNC Arena, losing 5-4 on Ryan Johansen’s goal at 21 seconds of OT. Justin Williams, Sebastian Aho and Calvin de Haan each scored even-strength goals, and Martin Necas had a third-period power play score for the Canes, who finished the preseason 5-0-1. Johansen scored twice and Craig Smith had two…

47 Images Homes flooded but no flood insurance: Cross Creek residents struggle after Florence 43 Images Europe wins Ryder Cup over US 74 Images Photos: Two weeks later, cleanup underway in Carolina Beach and Wilmington 76 Images Wide Open Bluegrass fills downtown Raleigh with color, sound 45 Images Nas, Erykah Badu headline Art of Cool fest in Durham 59 Images Photos: Death toll surpasses 800 after Indonesia earthquake, tsunami 78 Images NC State downs Virginia…

Hurricane Rosa was on a track Sunday to drench northwest Mexico and parts of the U.S. Southwest, prompting tropical storm warnings for the Baja California coast and flash-flood watches for parts of four U.S. states. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Rosa should still be at tropical storm force when it hits the Baja California Peninsula and Sonora state Monday with flooding rains. It’s then expected to move quickly northwestward as it weakens, bringing 2…

On Sunday, Sept. 30, 50 percent of each sale at North Carolina Chipotle restaurants will go directly to the United Way Hurricane Florence Recovery Fund. 60 Chipotle restaurants in North Carolina will be taking part from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. The funds will help United Way meet storm-related needs and support recovery efforts through the affected regions. MORE HURRICANE FLORENCE COVERAGE (Copyright ©2018 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.)

When Gov. Henry McMaster toured the flooded town of Nichols last weekend, he was looking at a disaster that wasn’t supposed to happen again. After the tiny Marion County town was flooded in 2016 by Hurricane Matthew, Nichols received a $1.5 million grant to reduce the impact of future floods, money that was supposed to help it avoid future calamities. “We were just fixing to get started” on a planned study to divert flood waters…

A tree service company told a homeowner it would cost $4,000 to remove three trees after Hurricane Florence, but then the price soared to $7,000, and then again to $12,000, according to North Carolina officials. It’s one of the latest of more than 700 complaints of Hurricane Florence-related price gouging, according to the N.C. Justice Department. Most of the complaints have involved gas and water, office spokeswoman Laura Brewer told The News & Observer in…

There’s still one game to go in the preseason, but the Carolina Hurricanes have their roster and there’s one surprise, a lot of positive reinforcement and still a few gambles that will, most likely, decide whether this season is a success or failure. Saturday’s cuts of Janne Kuokkanen and Saku Maenalanen, among others, established that Warren Foegele had upset the odds and won a spot on the roster, and deservedly so. He came into training…

The move seems right out of the gubernatorial playbook. When the winds begin to blow, governors ditch their coats and ties for an emergency management shirt, giving them a quasi-military/police look. So it was with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who has been appearing more regularly on TV than meteorologist Greg Fishel. In September, you could hardly turn on the TV without seeing Cooper, as he dealt with the unfolding tragedy of Hurricane Florence. He…

The Carolina Hurricanes trimmed their training camp roster to 23 on Saturday, sending eight players to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Rookie forwards Warren Foegele, Martin Necas and Valentin Zykov remain on the Canes roster. Andrei Svechnikov, the Canes’ first-round draft pick this year, also remains in camp. Those assigned to the Checkers were: forwards Janne Kuokkanen, Nicolas Roy and Saku Maenalanen; defensemen Roland McKeown and Michal Cajkovsky, and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic. Forwards Patrick…

Cue “Brass Bonanza,” Thursday’s press release out of Raleigh began. Cute. The Carolina Hurricanes, what became of Hartford’s 1997 hockey nightmare, announced plans to wear Whalers uniforms for two games against the Bruins during the 2018-19 season. The team’s official website celebrated use of Hartford’s history, and some would argue Hartford’s heartbreak, for monetary gain by calling for the playing of Hartford’s song. “Click here to secure your seats,” the press release ended. It was…

Tropical Storm Kirk caused power outages and heavy flooding across the eastern Caribbean and forced flight cancellations, officials said Friday. Authorities in Barbados said they helped rescue several people from a flooded home, while school was cancelled in the nearby islands of St. Lucia, Dominica, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Meteorologists said that up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain fell in some parts of Martinique, Dominica and Barbados as they warned of flash floods and…

By Cullen Browder, WRAL anchor/reporter Goldsboro, N.C. — Two so-called “500-year storms” have hit North Carolina in less than two years, and Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence have created unprecedented complications for homeowners. Homeowner’s insurance and flood insurance often aren’t nearly enough to cover the damage from the two storms. Matthew caused substantial flood damage to Staris Morgan’s Goldsboro home in 2016. Her homeowner’s insurance didn’t cover the water damage, and her flood insurance paid…

Wrightsville Beach, N.C. — September is usually a busy time for tourism along the coast, but this year Hurricane Florence changed that. The Wilmington and Beaches Convention and Visitors’ Bureau said Friday that businesses are finally opening up again, and owners are hopeful the tourists will soon come back. Audrey Longtin, owner of the Workshop Coffee Shop in Wrightsville Beach, said her shop was closed for eight days following Florence. “We’re just trying to do…

In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, insurance companies have already declared thousands of vehicles salvaged because of excessive flooding. While many will get a flooded title, not all will. For a vehicle to be deemed flooded by the insurance company, according to the North Carolina DMV, the car has been partially or completely submerged in water, and the body, engine, and transmission is damaged. Flood-damaged Cars that are uninsured, however, can easily be cleaned up…

By Mandy Mitchell Warsaw, N.C. — Field trips are meant to teach — outside of a classroom — to give a real world experience. Friday was one memorable field trip for students from Athens Drive High School in Raleigh. “Just on the bus ride, seeing the wreckage that people had put outside their house — that shows the devastation that happened, the stuff they are having to clear out because their possessions were destroyed,” said…

Editor’s note: This article appears in a special section on Hurricane Florence in the print edition of The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun on Sunday, Sept. 30. If you’re not a subscriber, the section will be available in papers in local stores. Hurricane Florence was just a giant gray tumbleweed on the weather radar screen for two weeks, menacing to the Carolinas but somewhat abstract, until midday on Thursday, Sept. 13. That’s when the…

State health officials have suspended immunization requirements for all students entering North Carolina schools and all children entering daycare to allow families to deal with disruptions caused by Hurricane Florence. Under state law, all students attending pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, community college and public or private university for the first time must show they have received required immunizations by their 30th day of school. But under an order this week by State Health Director Dr….

6p WRAL Evening News 7p HighSchoolOT Live: The Show Sept. 28 7p Enloe at Millbrook 7p Southeast Raleigh at Broughton 7p Village Christian at Wake Christian 7p Northwood at Corinth Holders 7p Leesville Road at Sanderson 7:30p Lumberton at Jack Britt 7:30p Richmond County at Pinecrest

Neighbor describes scene of murder-suicide in Johnston County Johnston County authorities say two teenagers were found dead at an Angier home Monday night after a suspected murder suicide. Cheyanne DeRosa, 18, a Wake Tech student who lives next door, talks to reporters about the scene.

Two cities that know too well what disaster feels like — and, too, how it feels to get a helping hand — are shipping trucks of supplies to the victims of Hurricane Florence. Columbia and Houston are teaming up to send more than 60,000 pounds of goods and supplies — from water and dog food to diapers and generators — to the Georgetown, S.C., area, where flooding caused by Florence has lasted for two weeks….

Katelen Harvey and Roy Gregg thought they had escaped the destruction of former Hurricane Florence unscathed, when a falling tree crashed through the roof of the modest, brick house they were renting in east Charlotte. While the couple and their 22-month-old daughter were not hurt, the storm has left them homeless. Thousands of homes and structures were damaged during the storm, according to the American Red Cross, leaving many without permanent housing. More than 1,900…

Officials with the North Carolina Coastal Federation and the state of North Carolina are advising people to stay out of coastal waters for the time being. Large amounts of polluted runoff are still flowing into coastal waterways all along areas of our coast that were hit by heavy rains from Hurricane Florence. Health officials and others are warning the public to stay out of the water until testing can be conducted to determine if it…

From the time we are old enough to feel the wind against our cheeks, we’re told how this invisible force shapes our world. A gentle breeze over time can reshape a dune as large as Jockey’s Ridge and a Category 5 hurricane could flatten it. I grew up on stories about wind. Hurricane Hazel, though I wasn’t born at the time, ripped up houses as far as two hours inland where we lived. My grandmother’s…