RRSpin - County's south end takes biggest brunt of storm damage

Sunday, 09 October 2016 13:49

County's south end takes biggest brunt of storm damage

Written by Lance Martin

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Highway 903 outside Scotland Neck this morning.

Southern Halifax County was the hardest hit portion of the Roanoke Valley as the outer bands of Hurricane Matthew throughout Saturday night and into this morning caused major flooding on roadways.

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Highway 903 approaching the Martin County line in the Scotland Neck area collapsed from heavy rains associated with the storm. It is not immediately clear how long it will take to repair the roadway, Sheriff Wes Tripp said.
Throughout the storm, between 20 to 25 people had to be rescued after driving their vehicles into floodwaters.
An electric cooperative truck washed away, said Lieutenant Dennis Coley of the sheriff’s office, but there were no serious injuries.
A woman on Highway 125 clung to either her car or a tree for three hours as water reached chin level before she was rescued, Coley said.
Highway 258 South just outside Scotland Neck was impassable as of this report. Coley made the decision to close Thirteen Bridges Road as water continued rushing across the roadway.
On Highway 481 near KOA, an abandoned car was inundated but its owner was safe.
Throughout the ordeal, there were no reports of lives lost or serious injury.
At the shelter at the Scotland Neck Senior Center, 11 people stayed, a volunteer said. One was a nurse who had been on her way to work.
A total of nine people stayed at the shelter at Inborden School in Enfield, county social services Director Norma Merriman said. “We had four people who nearly drowned but were rescued.”
Tripp said the county was still taking assessment of damage to bridges and roads. Silvertown Road was flooded, he said, Highway 903 near Dog Pound Road outside Halifax was flooded but passable. Johnne Johnson Road in the Hollister area was believed to be washed out. “The county manager is assembling a disaster team.”
Tripp said Matthew’s destructive nature was similar to that of Floyd in 1999.
He praised first responders who helped rescue the many people stranded. “It’s a certain person who is called to law enforcement or becoming a first responder in the line of duty. It’s a passion to serve and help others.”
The only known property damage in the county, Tripp said, was on Adcock Road near the Nash County line where a tree fell on a house.
Northampton County Sheriff Jack Smith said the county was spared major damage. “I think we’re looking pretty good. There’s between six to 10 road closings. We had no deaths and only minor injuries.”
While there were some homes flooded, the immediate extent was not clearly known. He planned to assess the county later today with EMS.
Roanoke Rapids was spared serious damage, public works Director Larry Chalker said.
Several roads were closed late Saturday night and into this morning, he said.
There are trees still falling, Chalker said. “We had crews out until 4:30 this morning cutting and removing trees.”
One of the major areas of concern, Rochelle Pond, “Performed exactly as expected in controlling rising waters and releasing them in a controlled manner.”
In the neighborhoods which were inundated in 2012 flooding, work done in those areas staved off further problems.
Chalker said the storm did exactly what the National Weather Service predicted it to do. “They predicted increased wind and rain.”