Month: September 2022

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for portions of the northern Leeward Islands as Tropical Storm Fiona moves through the Atlantic. The center of Fiona is forecast to move through the Leeward Islands late Friday and Friday night, and move near the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend. Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph (85 km/h) with higher gusts. Forecasts suggests little change in Fiona’s strength during the…

By Brian Shrader, WRAL anchor/reporter Lumberton, N.C. — Years after flooding from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence closed Interstate 95 in Robeson County, state leaders are looking at ways to flood-proof the main interstate connection along the East Coast. A project starts this week between Interstate 74 and just north of N.C. Highway 211. Crews will widen the interstate to a total of eight lanes and raise it up to 14 feet higher in spots. The…

By Laura Leslie, WRAL capitol bureau chief On the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Florence, state lawmakers are questioning the officials who manage disaster recovery in North Carolina. They say too many survivors are still waiting for help. Four years ago Wednesday Florence came ashore near Wilmington. Two years before that, Hurricane Matthew hit the state. The state has received $780 million in federal assistance for storm recovery from Hurricanes Florence and Matthew. Still years later,…

By Brian Shrader, WRAL anchor/reporter Lumberton, N.C. — Years after flooding from Hurricanes Matthews and Florence closed Interstate 95 in Robeson County, state leaders are looking at ways to flood proof the main interstate connection along the East Coast. Now, a project starts this week between Interstate 74 and just north of N.C. Highway 211. Crews will widen the interstate to a total of eight lanes and raise it up to 14 feet higher in…

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and GARY D. ROBERTSON, Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. — Nearly six years after flood damage from Hurricane Matthew displaced Thad Artis from his home in Goldsboro, North Carolina, he has still not been placed in permanent housing. Living alone in a motel for the last two years, growing increasingly frustrated with what he considers empty promises of swift action from government officials, the 68-year-old spends every penny on his wife’s health care…

17 minutes ago RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — State lawmakers will hold a hearing on issues in the hurricane recovery process on the 4-year anniversary of Hurricane Florence. The state got hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid to help North Carolinians rebuild, but years later many storm victims are still living in motels and travel trailers. The agency tasked with leading the recovery, Rebuild NC, is expected to face questions about how it’s using…