Flooding in Pender County, air rescues expected

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — There have been reports of flooding all around the Cape Fear, including in Pender County.

Emergency Operations Director Tom Collins says there were 300 rescues made Saturday night.

Collins says the water is reaching levels not seen since Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

“We got some air assets coming in, we’re going to have to pick people off rooftops, and once we get them to a dry area, get them to a shelter. A lot of our roads are cut off, I-40 is cut off, so it’s hard to get around right now,” said Collins.

Collins says evacuations were ordered for people near the Cape Fear River and Black River. He hopes they heed the warnings.

“If you can’t get out, just get to high ground and we’ll look for you. It’s the best we can do right now,” said Collins.

We will continue to update this as more information becomes available.