Raleigh North Carolina News

Two U.S. senators called Wednesday for an investigation into FEMA’s awarding of multimillion-dollar contracts to companies with “little to no experience” doing the work required in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The senators were reacting to reporting by McClatchy on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s contracting process in the wake of the Sept. 20, 2017, storm that devastated the U.S. territory in the Caribbean. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.,…

Congress is sending $1.7 billion to the storm-ravaged Carolinas. The Senate Wednesday overwhelming approved legislation granting North Carolina’s request for $1.14 billion and South Carolina’s request for $540 million. The House passed the same bill last week, and now the measure heads to President Donald Trump for his signature. This is the first influx of federal funding lawmakers on Capitol Hill have expressly designated for long-term recovery efforts after Hurricane Florence — and it won’t…

Floodwater fails to recede in Conway, buildings remain submerged Floodwater from Hurricane Florence has persisted in the town of Conway, S.C. The Waccamaw River was three feet above its previous flood record set by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and is expected to rise another foot, cresting at 22 feet.

By Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief Raleigh, N.C. — North Carolina transportation officials told lawmakers Wednesday that road damage from Hurricane Florence will cost at last $266 million to repair at thousands of sites statewide. That estimate is expected to rise, Transportation Secretary Jim Trogden said, as more information comes in. New technology, Trogden said, gave the Department of Transportation more information earlier in the storm than ever before. However, it also posed dangers…

An endangered leatherback turtle named Isla, tagged and tracked by researchers in Florida, almost found herself swimming into the path of Hurricane Florence off North Carolina as the storm came ashore, according to scientists with Florida Leatherbacks Inc. The organization tagged Isla earlier this year, planning to track her as she nested along the Florida coast and migrated north. Isla ended up just off the North Carolina Outer Banks as Hurricane Florence approached the state…

Hurricane Florence tore through the Carolinas, leaving entire cities devastated, claiming dozens of lives, and doing what will likely be billions of dollars in damage. But this hurricane has exposed much more than tree roots and the foundations of homes — it has exposed the gross and growing inequality embedded in our state. For years, eastern North Carolina has been home to some of the state’s most impoverished towns and communities. In 2016, 19 of…

North Carolina’s public schools have suffered more than $50 million in damage and lost revenue from Hurricane Florence as efforts continue to get schools repaired so that thousands of students can return to classes. State education officials painted a grim picture Wednesday of the conditions facing schools in the southeastern part of the state as families slowly recover from the damage sustained from Florence. Amid the ongoing recovery efforts, the repeated message at the State…

Almost nine months and a full offseason into his ownership of the Carolina Hurricanes, Tom Dundon has shuffled the front office and the roster in a tenure that’s as hands-on as it gets. He has altered the minutest details, right down to the screen-savers on the flat-screen displays in the renovated locker room. And yet the changes he really wants to make, the ones that will have a real impact, remain entirely out of his…

One of the most historic lighthouses on the North Carolina coast will open for free tours, according to our newsgathering partners at the News & Observer. Hurricane Florence hit the Outer Banks on Sept. 14. One of the many things it damaged was Cape Lookout Lighthouse. The lighthouse has been closed since it sustained damage during Florence. “To celebrate the progress toward recovery from Hurricane Florence,” the National Park Service intends to reopen Cape Lookout…

MIAMI — The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Hurricane Leslie has formed far out over the Atlantic Ocean. Forecasters say large swells from the Category 1 storm will continue to affect portions of the southeastern U.S., Bermuda and the Bahamas over the next few days. The swells are also expected to increase near the coasts of New England and Atlantic Canada by the end of the week. At 5 a.m. Wednesday, Leslie was about…

By Janine Bowen, WRAL.com editor Southern Pines, N.C. — A Brunswick County man has been arrested after authorities said he raped a woman in Southern Pines on Monday night. Southern Pines police said that the victim reported that a man who had been staying in her apartment sexually assaulted her while she was sleeping at about 11 p.m. Officers who arrived at the apartment found Freeman Scott Ireland, 37, inside and charged him with second-degree…

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (WTVD) — A Brunswick County man displaced by Hurricane Florence has been arrested after police said he raped a woman in her apartment. Around 11 p.m. Monday, Southern Pines police were called to the victim’s home after she said a man sexually assaulted her while she slept. Officers said 37-year-old Freeman Ireland was displaced as a result of damage from Florence and was trying to relocate to Moore County. Police said Ireland…

SPRING LAKE, N.C. (WTVD) — As Spring Lake resident Vincent Baker stood outside of his home on Brinkley drive, he realized how difficult it was to accept that he’s had to throw away most of this belongings because of Hurricane Florence. Stay on top of breaking news stories with the ABC11 News App “I’d say we lost 90 percent of what we had,” Baker said. “I’m a veteran, so I’ve been faced with crisis before….

SPRING LAKE, N.C. (WTVD) — As Spring Lake resident Vincent Baker stood outside of his home on Brinkley drive, he realized how difficult it was to accept that he’s had to throw away most of this belongings because of Hurricane Florence. Stay on top of breaking news stories with the ABC11 News App “I’d say we lost 90 percent of what we had,” Baker said. “I’m a veteran, so I’ve been faced with crisis before….

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — On that same September Saturday when we watched Hurricane Florence make landfall and the epic floodwaters started to rise south and east of the Triangle, Zach Medford was here in Raleigh tending to his small empire of bars and restaurants. He immediately found himself suddenly leading something called the Carolina Cavalry — a grassroots, all-volunteer hurricane relief group. Eighteen days after Florence devastated North Carolina, there are more than 3,300 volunteers….