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- Crews responding to wildfire in Boiling Spring Lakes
- Live radar: Strong storms end Thursday evening; more severe weather expected on Friday
- At least 1 tornado touches down in Burnet County as storms pound Central Texas
- Live radar: Severe storm threat continues for Central Texas after confirmed tornado in Burnet County
Homes endure flooding from Cape Fear River in Fayetteville
As floodwater from Tropical Storm Debby begins to recede in some areas, the threat is just beginning for others.
A homeowner on Bombay Drive in Fayetteville told WRAL News she is dealing with insurance and restoration companies after nearby Locks Creek overflowed its banks and the water damaged her home.
On Thursday, Debby dropped heavy rain on North Carolina, swelling the Cape Fear River. The water is flooding roads in nearby neighborhoods, and neighbors say the road to recovery is just beginning.
Watch: Drone 5 flies over the rising Cape Fear River
Residents on Bombay Drive were asked to evacuate their homes Thursday. Camille Barley said she left long before the evacuation notice when she saw the water rising in her home on her security cameras.
Barley said close to 12 inches of water entered her home, and there was standing water in her driveway.
Barley said it’s the fourth time the home has flooded since Hurricane Matthew, forcing her to notify her insurance company.
“It takes a process,” Barley said. “They will have to send their evaluators out to assess the damage before they issue any payments, but in the meantime, my life continues — and I have to anchor all of those expenses.”
Bartley said the water from Locks Creek is only part of the problem, adding the draining ditch next to her home and the storm water drainage system in the neighborhood are not properly maintained by the city.
WRAL News reached out to Fayetteville city leaders for answers.
The city said hundreds of thousands of dollars have already been spent to address the drainage issues of Locks Creek, but the work is not yet complete.
The flooding damage from Debby was extensive on Thursday. A dam collapsed near Siple Avenue in Cumberland County, south of Hope Mills, and Drone 5 flew over the aftermath.
The Triangle is north of watersheds for larger eastern North Carolina rivers, including the Tar River, Neuse River and Cape Fear River. That means flooding is typically worse downstream of the Triangle in areas like Fayetteville and Lumberton.
“These rivers are large enough that major flooding can cause a good bit of damage to homes, businesses and farms as they flow toward the coast,” WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said. “We ended up with an average of 4 to 8 inches of rain from Debby, and that is causing minor to major flooding on some of our rivers.”