Wilmington North Carolina News

I-95 (Photo: WPDE) LUMBERTON, NC (AP) — The N.C. Department of Transportation has signed a $432 million contract this month to rebuild eight miles of Interstate 95 through one county with an eye on eliminating a recurring flooding problem. Flooding resulting from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018 closed the highway in Robeson County for several days, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported. – Advertisement – Starting next year, contractors will…

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — Today makes 5 years since Hurricane Matthew brushed by the Cape Fear, leaving behind beach erosion and devastating flooding across the area. Matthew didn’t officially make landfall in North Carolina, coming within miles of Bald Head Island. – Advertisement – The storms still dropped 6-12 inches of rain, leaving towns like Fair Bluff entirely submerged in water. The strong winds of the hurricane were also enough to cause part of…

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Sam is a Category 4 storm that is not expected to strike Bermuda but is forecast bring tropical storm conditions to the territory and other islands. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Sam’s core will travel well east of Bermuda. It is located 435 miles south-southeast of Bermuda as of Friday morning. Strong wind and rough surf are expected to affect Bermuda and the Bahamas beginning Friday night or Saturday morning….

Hurricane Sam on Sept. 29, 2021. (Photo: WWAY) MIAMI (AP) — It’s going to be a rough weekend in the water for beachgoers along the U.S. east coast including North Carolina. The National Hurricane Center predicts life-threatening surf and rip currents as Hurricane Sam turns northward. Forecasters expect the Category 4 hurricane to remain at sea, but with top winds of 130 mph, it’s already sending dangerous ocean swells to islands hundreds of miles away….

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — There are just 9 weeks remaining in official hurricane season, but new sensor technology is ready if we get a late-season storm in the Cape Fear. The University of Florida is partnering with North Carolina Sea Grant to bring a 33-foot hurricane sensor tower to Wrightsville Beach before the next storm strikes. – Advertisement – “We have one tower under construction now, and we’re planning for two more, probably…

MIAMI (WWAY / AP) — Hurricane Sam is a powerful Category 4 storm in the Atlantic Ocean, but forecasters said late Sunday that it had peaked in intensity. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Sam was centered about 800 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands. Its maximum sustained winds dropped to 130 mph Monday morning. Forecasters say there will be little change in strength over the next day or so, followed by a slow…

Forecast track for TS Sam on Sept 23, 2021 (Photo: WWAY) MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Sam has formed in the Atlantic and is expected to become a major hurricane. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm’s maximum sustained winds Thursday are near 50 mph with additional strengthening expected. The storm is expected to be near major hurricane strength by the end of the weekend. – Advertisement – The storm was centered about 1,745…

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office warned drivers on Wednesday about several dangerous areas after multiple days of rain. On Mount Misery Road, several inches of water on the ground caused at least one car to veer off the road into a ditch. – Advertisement – Over on Malmo Loop Road, flooding caused part of the roadway to wash away. The sheriff’s office warning drivers to use an alternative route. One…

Malmo Loop approximately 2-3 miles from 74/76 side washing away due to flooding on Sept. 22, 2021. (Photo: BCSO) CAPE FEAR, NC (WWAY) — The past two days of rain has left many places in southeastern North Carolina under water. Some places have seen several inches of rain since Tuesday morning. Several flash flooding warnings has been issued by the National Weather Service office in Wilmington over the last 24-36 hours. – Advertisement – Awful…

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Ethel Gerald has lived in her home at the corner of North 5th Avenue and Campbell Street for over five decades. For the past several years, Gerald says flooding in the roadway surrounding her house has become a growing problem. “When it rains, if I take my walk, I can’t be able to take the walk because it’s just too flooded out there for me,” Gerald said. “I have a disability. That’s…

PNC Arena, home of the Carolina Hurricanes (Photo: Ed Clemente / MGN) WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Stanley Cup Champion and Conn Smythe Trophy Winner, retired goaltender Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes will participate in the 3rd Annual Wishes at Waterman’s Celebrity Bartending Event. Proceeds will benefit Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina. Ward will be behind the bar at Waterman’s Brewing Company from 5-6 p.m. on Thursday with the goal of raising $12,500 in “tips” for…

Thousands of homes were flooded during Hurricane Florence. (photo: WWAY News) LELAND, NC (WWAY) — It’s been three years since Hurricane Florence battered Southeastern North Carolina, leaving 30 inches of rain and causing dozens of deaths. Though we’ve come a long way, the farther you get from the center of town, the more devastation still goes unaddressed. That’s what Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry, or WARM is working to fix. – Advertisement – When water levels…

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Tuesday marks the third anniversary of Hurricane Florence which caused extensive flooding and damage across the Cape Fear. On this day in 2018, the eye of the hurricane crossed Wrightsville Beach at 7:15 a.m. – Advertisement – The storm produced record-breaking rainfall for two days with some places recording more than 30 inches of rain. Historic flooding developed along the Cape Fear, Northeast Cape Fear, Lumberton, and Waccamaw rivers. Wind gusts…

Tropical Storm Nicholas is near Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, and has potential to bring flooding and rain to Mexico and Texas.

Malek Anthony Moore (Photo: FBI) CHARLOTTE, NC (WSOC) — According to sources, a man who was wanted by the FBI, accused in a violent crime spree that left two people dead has been arrested in Greensboro. Sources told our affiliate WSOC that Malek Moore, 29, was arrested Thursday in Greensboro. – Advertisement – Moore was wanted in connection to the murders of 29-year-old Gabryelle Allnutt in Charlotte and 21-year-old Christian Mbimba in Greensboro. Police issued…

Surfers at Wrightsville Beach as Hurricane Larry stirs up swell (Photo: Sydney Bouchelle/WWAY) WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Hurricane Larry isn’t forecasted to make landfall in the United States, but coastal North Carolina is still feeling its impacts and surfers are taking advantage. Around lunchtime on Wednesday, a dozen or more surfers were floating just past the Oceanic Pier on the south end of Wrightsville Beach waiting for the perfect wave. – Advertisement – Sam…

Hurricane Ida 2021 (Credit: NOAA) NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Louisiana, most of them outside New Orleans, still didn’t have power Tuesday and more than half of the gas stations in two major cities were without fuel nine days after Hurricane Ida slammed into the state, splintering homes and toppling electric lines. There were also persistent signs of recovery, however, as the total number of people without electricity…

Photo Credit: NOAA MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. – The National Weather Service is warning that swells from Hurricane Larry will create dangerous rip current conditions. News outlets report that the storm isn’t expected to make landfall in the United States, but it will be powerful enough to be felt along the East Coast. – Advertisement – The weather service says Outer Banks beaches from Pea Island down to Cape Lookout will experience a high rip current…

Flooding in Baltimore from IDA (Photo: WJZ) HURLEY, VA (AP) — The remnants of Hurricane Ida are blowing into New England, a band of severe weather that’s flooding low-lying communities and forcing evacuations in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. A teenager was found dead in a flooded apartment complex in Rockville, Maryland. – Advertisement – A dam near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was dangerously full, forcing 3,000 people downstream to evacuate. Rivers overflowed their banks in Virginia, knocking…

Photo Credit: Ramel Carpenter/WWAY MIAMI (AP) — The remnants of Hurricane Ida were forecast to dump rain from the central Appalachians into New England on Wednesday, with up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) possible in spots from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts. Kate persisted as a tropical depression far from Atlantic coasts, and Larry became a tropical storm off the coast of Africa. Ida remains a tropical depression, and the National Hurricane Center said its top sustained…

(Photo: Pixabay / MGN) SLIDELL, La. (ABC) — A man was attacked by a large alligator while walking through floodwaters from Hurricane Ida and is now missing, a Louisiana sheriff said. The 71-year-old man’s wife told sheriff’s deputies that she heard a commotion around noon on Monday, then walked outside to see the gator attacking her husband in the New Orleans suburb of Slidell, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. –…

NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — Volunteers from the Cape Fear Red Cross are making their way to Alabama, helping victims after Hurricane Ida. Monday morning, Phyllis and David Quinn packed a van with two weeks worth of supplies to feed those affected by the storm. Though the couple is prepared with years of firefighting and EMT experience, Phyllis said she felt anxious. – Advertisement – 16 years ago, she responded and helped after Hurricane Katrina,…

Local Red Cross volunteers Daryl Steinbraker, Gene Pavone, and Michael Thompson arrive at ILM airport to head to Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Photo: American Red Cross of the Cape Fear) WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) —As Hurricane Ida strikes Louisiana, the American Red Cross of the Cape Fear is jumping into action, to aid in disaster relief for states along the Gulf Coast. Today, Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane, with winds of…

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Ida blasted ashore Sunday as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S., rushing from the Louisiana coast toward New Orleans and one of the nation’s most important industrial corridors. The Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph hit on the same date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi 16 years earlier, coming ashore about 45 miles west of where Category 3 Katrina first struck land….

Hurricane Ida 2021 Projected Path (Credit: NOAA) CANTON, NC (WLOS) — Tropical Storm Fred brought deadly flooding to Western North Carolina last week, and more rain could be heading to those heavily hit areas. According to the National Hurricane Center, Ida is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane over the weekend. If it stays true to the current track, Ida could impact WNC early to mid-week. – Advertisement – For business owners…

Flooding in Haywood County from Tropical Storm Fred on August 18, 2021 (Photo: WSPA/CBS News) RALEIGH, NC (AP) — Gov. Roy Cooper has asked President Joe Biden to issue a federal disaster declaration for North Carolina after last week’s major flooding and landslides in the mountains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred. Cooper wrote the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday seeking financial help for individuals, governments or nonprofits in up to seven western…

Photo Credit: Hardin County Fire Dept. WAVERLY, Tenn. (AP) – A funeral home manager says 20 people who died in a Tennessee flood have had their funerals paid for by an anonymous donor. Humphreys County Funeral Home manager William Brown told the Tennessean that a man who wished to remain unnamed walked in on Thursday and paid for nine funerals being organized there. – Advertisement – He said the man also went to other funeral…

Pender County flood (photo: WWAY) PENDER COUNTY (WWAY) — In Pender County, people are bracing for the peak of hurricane season next month, hoping there will not be any heavy rain that leads to flooding. According to one resident, flooding is inevitable in Pender County. But after Hurricane Florence exacerbated conditions, it could turn into a way of life. – Advertisement – “You kind of live in a houseboat for about 5-7 days and then…

New Hanover County (Photo: Sydney Bouchelle/WWAY) NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. (WWAY) – To show the county’s strategies to reduce floodplain hazards, as well as ensure homeowners receive discounted flood insurance rates, New Hanover County has completed its annual progress report on the mitigation efforts related to floodplain management in the Southeastern NC Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan and has submitted it to the Insurance Services Office. The county’s 2021 progress report, which can be found here, outlines…

Tropical Storm Henri near the East (Credit: NOAA) The slow and sprawling storm system named Henri drenched much of the inland Northeast with rain Monday, hampering cleanup efforts and threatening further flooding in areas with ground already saturated from a wet summer. Rains from the storm, which spared coastal areas of New York and New England major damage when its center made landfall Sunday in Rhode Island as a tropical storm, deluged areas from New Hampshire to New York…

Photo Credit: City of Dickson Fire Department WAVERLY, Tenn. (AP) — Search crews worked through shattered homes and tangled debris on Monday, looking for dozens of people still missing after record-breaking rain sent floodwaters surging through Middle Tennessee, killing at least 22 people. Saturday’s flooding took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines, leaving people uncertain about whether family and friends survived the unprecedented deluge, with rainfall that more than tripled what forecasters had expected. Emergency…

(Photo: WWAY) NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — As rip currents risks associated with Tropical Storm Henri lessen as the storm continues to move further from the Cape Fear, ocean rescue crews continue to warn beachgoers to proceed with caution. On Sunday, yellow flags flew on Carolina Beach and Kure Beach, after seeing high rip current risks coming from a large swell brought by Tropical Storm Henri. – Advertisement – The flags signifying moderate swimming conditions…

(Photo: Pixabay) HAYWOOD COUNTY, NC (WLOS) — Haywood County officials have released more information regarding hose killed during the historic flooding that swept across the region. Allison Richmond, public information officer for Haywood County Emergency Services, says as of Saturday morning, three people remain missing in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Fred. Richmond tells News 13 that several people who had been initially reported as unaccounted for were already safe, just out of contact at…

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) —Local ocean rescue crews are advising beachgoers to remain cautious near the water this weekend, as swells From Tropical Storm Henri are increasing the rip current risk. With the strong surf and currents in the area, there  were at least 30 ocean rescues on Wrightsville Beach, at least 15 at Kure Beach, and 8 at Carolina Beach. – Advertisement – On Friday, red flags were flying on Wrightsville Beach lifeguard…

Photo Credit: Tanner Barth WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) – The National Weather Service is warning residents and beachgoers on the North Carolina coast of rip currents and rough surf associated with Tropical Storm Henri. Meteorologist Steven Pfaff of the weather service’s Wilmington office says swells from Henri are expected to created hazardous surf conditions at all area beaches beginning Friday and continuing on Saturday as swells from the storm intensify. – Advertisement – The weather service…

The latest on Tropical Depression Fred, forecast to bring severe weather to central and western North Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Photo Credit: CBS Evening News RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Tropical Storm Fred weakened to a depression and spawned several apparent tornadoes in Georgia and North Carolina on Tuesday as it dumped heavy rains into the Appalachian mountains along a path that could cause flash floods as far north as upstate New York. One death was reported — a Las Vegas man whose car hydroplaned near Panama City, Florida, Monday night and overturned into a water-filled…

Flooding in Whiteville on June 16, 2020. (Photo: Ian Edwards) WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Tuesday, Southeastern North Carolinian leaders traveled to Raleigh, lobbying the Senate an House for more flood resources. Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo lobbied for a bill he says should provide a blueprint for hurricanes and floods, funding, and more expertise. – Advertisement –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 The bill, which Saffo hopes will pass in both chambers by the end of the month, would address some…

The latest on Tropical Depression Fred, forecast to bring severe weather to central and western North Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Courtesy: NOAA LAME DEER, Mont. (AP) — Wildfires in Montana threatened rural towns and ranchland, and victims of a California blaze returned to their incinerated town even as the region faced another round of dangerous weather. Firefighters and residents have scrambled to save hundreds of homes as flames advance across the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana. – Advertisement – An evacuation order was lifted Friday morning for about 600 people in and around…

Students fill bags with storm essentials. (photo: Peyton Furtado) NORTHWEST, NC (WWAY) — The City of Northwest will be providing hurricane preparedness bags to the community on Saturday. It will be at City of Northwest City Hall at 4889 Vernon Road in Northwest from 10:30a.m. until 12:30p.m. or until the bags are gone. – Advertisement – People can line up at the park entrance. Organizers said there are a limited number of bags so they’re…

Red Cross volunteers are becoming harder to come by in eastern NC (Photo: American Red Cross) WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) —The American Red Cross is in need of volunteers to man disaster shelters this hurricane season. Volunteers will help with reception, registration, food distribution, and information collection for shelter services. The Cape Fear Chapter hopes to have 20 to 25 volunteers. Organizers say they would like to have plenty of people in place before any major…

(Photo: Forest Service NW / Twitter / MGN) (CBS) — Wildfire smoke has made it to the North Pole for the first time in recorded history, NASA said, as multiple blazes continued to rage across Russia on Tuesday. One of the country’s coldest regions has been especially hard hit, with smoke so bad that it blacked out the sun, the Guardian newspaper reported. – Advertisement – The Sakha Republic in Siberia is one of the…

California wildfire on August 6, 2021 (Photo: Reuters/CBS News) GREENVILLE, CA (AP) — A Northern California wildfire that is now the third-largest in state history had burned for weeks, mostly in remote wildland areas with few people, before it roared through the little mountain community of Greenville, driven by shifting winds and bone-dry vegetation. Eva Gorman has called the town home for 17 years and said it was love at first sight when she and…

Flooding in Hurricane Florence (Photo: WTVD) NORTH CAROLINA (WWAY) — North Carolinians who have home repair needs due to damage from Hurricane Florence in September 2018 may be eligible for financial assistance from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Economic Opportunity. Homeowners who live in one of the 27 designated counties and have an income that is at or below certain income levels may be eligible for additional financial assistance with repairs if they were…

Hurricane Isaias brought some of the worst flooding Ocean Isle Beach has ever seen. How does it look after a year of rebuilding?