Wilmington North Carolina News

By Hunter Ingram StarNews Staff Friday Nov 16, 2018 at 11:05 AM Nov 16, 2018 at 11:05 AM The electronics store opened for the first time since before the hurricane on Friday WILMINGTON – Electronics fans, rejoice. Wilmington’s Best Buy reopened its doors Friday, two months and five days after it closed for Hurricane Florence. During the storm, the area’s biggest electronics store sustained significant roof and water damage, which required the extended closure to handle repairs. About 25 people stormed the doors of Best…

Hundreds of vessels along the N.C. coast expose problems in how the state deals with abandoned boats.

Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter Each candy cane represents a child in those schools that may have lost their home or lost belongings because of the storm. (Photo: WWAY) WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Don’t panic, but Christmas is just over a month away. For many in the Cape Fear the holiday is clouded by the impact of Hurricane Florence. – Advertisement – In Burgaw, a shop is helping children have a holly jolly holiday….

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — From helping disaster victims to becoming one. Tragedy strikes a couple who traveled to the Cape Fear from California to help with Hurricane Florence recovery. They say what goes around comes around, but that certainly is not the case for one couple who traveled across the country to help others only to find out their house was destroyed by wildfires. – Advertisement – Michael Stephenson works for Moffitt Services and has…

(CBS News) — Jeff Hill of Paradise, California, was checking on someone’s house after the Camp Fire nearly leveled the entire town, and what he found in the backyard startled him. It was a horse “shivering uncontrollably,” Hill wrote on Facebook. He found the horse in the backyard pool, suspended by a pool cover. – Advertisement – The horse “had the look of defeat in her eyes,” Hill wrote. But thanks to the pool, she was…

New Hanover revenues behind schedule; partly because of storm NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Hurricane Florence had yet another impact, as New Hanover County potentially saw decreased tax revenue at least partly because of the storm. “I usually like to tell you that revenues are where we expect,” Lisa Wurtzbacher, chief financial officer for the county, said at Tuesday’s board of county commissioners meeting. The county had received $24.7 million, or 8.3 percent of its total…

Flooding after Hurricane Matthew (Photo: WTVD) BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — State housing specialists opened an office to assist residents who were impacted by Hurricane Matthew. The center is called the Hurricane Matthew Recovery Intake Center and is located at the Shiloh Columbia Volunteer Fire Department building, 19170 US-421, Willard. – Advertisement – “Yes, I did say Hurricane Matthew,” said Judith Herring, Pender County Housing director. “The center’s housing specialists will meet with families impacted by…

A tree fell on Chadwick Robert’s house during Hurricane Florence while he was inside it. (Photo: Matt Bennett/WWAY) WILMINGTON, NC (Press Release) — FEMA has provided $40.2 million in grants to more than 10,000 families in southeastern NC to help them rent a place to live temporarily, make basic home repairs to help make their home habitable, and replace personal property. FEMA has paid $81.8 million in flood insurance claims to policyholders in the Cape…

Hard-to-get sawdust boosts costs for burying dead chickens and livestock, Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler told lawmakers.

Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter A confirmed tornado caused some damage on the Crystal Coast on November 13, 2018. (Photo: US National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City NC) ATLANTIC BEACH, NC (WCTI) — A confirmed tornado caused some damage on the Crystal Coast Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service surveyed the damage and determined it was, in fact, a tornado. The report came in to NWS at 4:44 a.m. in…

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Southern California’s huge wildfire roared to life again Tuesday in a mountain wilderness area even as many neighborhoods were reopened to thousands of residents who fled its advance last week. A massive plume rose suddenly at midmorning in the Santa Monica Mountains near the community of Lake Sherwood, prompting authorities to send aircraft to drop retardant and water on the blaze. – Advertisement – Forecasters had warned of continuing fire danger…

Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter Hurricane Florence on Sept. 20, 2018. (Photo: NCDOT) RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal report shows Hurricane Florence broke records in a key flooding measure at more than two-dozen stream gauges in the Carolinas. The U.S. Geological Survey released a report Tuesday on streamflow, which measures how much water passes a fixed point at a river or stream. Records were broken at 18 gauges in North Carolina and 10 in South…

Some students are considering tort claims with the Attorney General’s office WILMINGTON — In the first weeks after Hurricane Florence, police at the University of North Carolina Wilmington got 36 reports of items stolen from residence halls. Two months after the storm, Police Chief David Donaldson estimates that number is now between 65 and 70.  And while many of those cases are inactive, Donaldson said none have been resolved. “No, there are none that have…

11/13/18– Hurricane Florence ravaged parts of Brunswick County.One of the hardest hit areas was the Stoney Creek Plantation neighborhood in Leland where 44 homes were flooded.Two months after the storm– Houses have been gutted and residents are trying to figure out how to rebuild.So far– Brunswick County has received more than $20-million in FEMA funding.

Downed trees, weather-related crashes and impassable roads were reported Tuesday following steady, heavy overnight rain.