Hurricane Matthew has moved on, but the damage left in its aftermath will take weeks to repair.
Bladen County schools and government offices will be closed Monday. Some roads remain impassable. Power companies worked into Sunday night in an effort to restore service to all customers. Many folks in Bladen County spent Sunday cleaning up debris and assessing damage.
At least two people died during the storm Saturday afternoon when the car they were in fell into rushing water in a washed out area of Rosindale Road near Clarkton. A third person in the vehicle escaped. State Highway Patrol 1st Sgt. Matt Hardee identified the people who died as 44-year-old Shawn Dell Kemp and 22-year-old Juwan Roladno McCoy, WECT-TV reported.
As of 9:30 p.m. Sunday, about 6,000 Duke Energy customers in Elizabethtown, Bladenboro and White Lake remained without power, according to the utility’s map and it wasn’t certain when power would be fully restored. As only 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Four County Electric Membership Corp. reported 373 customers without power from a high of more than 8,000 Saturday at 7 p.m.
About 180 people used one of Bladen County’s four shelters Saturday, according to Emergency Services Director Bradley Kinlaw. By Sunday afternoon, only about a dozen people remained at East Bladen High School.
Bladen County remains under a flood warning until 2 p.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Continued runoff from Saturday’s heavy rainfall is expected to continue to cause flooding of small creeks and streams.
One bright spot is the weather forecast doesn’t call for rain the rest of the week with highs between 67 to 76 degrees, and lows between 48 and 56.
Although Bladen County didn’t get overly strong winds from Matthew as it crossed the North Carolina-South Carolina line Saturday, it did receive a soaking. Bladen Online’s gauge, which is part of the national Community Collaborative Rain, Hal and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) network, measured 10.71 inches of rain from 8 a.m. Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday. The gauge measured 2 inches in the previous 24-hour period.
Some Bladen County Water District homes lost water pressure briefly Saturday afernoon and again for several hours Sunday. The county recommended for customers to boil water until full pressure returned.
Many parts of downtown Bladenboro flooded Saturday and roads were closed. The town had previously enacted a 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew Friday and Saturday. Elizabethtown and Bladen County also had curfews Saturday night into Sunday morning.
CLOSINGS AND DELAYS
Along with schools and county government offices, Bladen-Cape Fear Valley clinics in Dublin, Bladenboro and Elizabethtown will be closed Monday because of power outages. The emergency department at Bladen County Hospital will be open Monday.
Bladen County Public Library branches will be closed Monday.
ROAD CLOSINGS
N.C. Department of Transportation reported the following road closures Sunday night because of flooding or damage:
** Main Street, Bladenboro
** Seaboard Street, Bladenboro
** N.C. 210 near State Road 1503, north of White Oak
** N.C. 242 near State Road 1325, north of Elizabethtown
** N.C. 41 near US. 701, east of White Lake
** N.C. 53 near State Road 1345, north of White Oak
** N.C. 53 near State Road 1318 in White Oak
** N.C. 87 near N.C. 87, north of Tar Heel
** Twisted Hickory Road near State Road 1141, west of Clarkton
** Twisted Hickory Road near N.C. 242 in both directions.
** Twisted Hickory Road near State Road 1141, northwest of Clarkton
** Paul Brinson Road near N.C. 131, west of Dublin
** Pleasant Creek Church Road near N.C. 410, south of Dublin
** Ben Street Extension near N.C. 87 in Elizabethtown. It’s near Elizabethtown Middle School.
** Cromartie Road near N.C. 87, west of Elizabethtown
** Happy Valley Rod near State Road 1150, south of Elizabethtown
** Chicken Foot Road near State Road 1301, northwest of Tar Heel
** Owen Hill Road near N.C. 87, west of Elizabethtown
** Davis Road near N.C. 210, northwest of White Lake
** Mercer Mill Brown Marsh Road near N.C. 87, in Elizabethown
** Rosindale Road near State Road 1777, south of Elizabethtown
** Old Rosindale Road, near State Road 1712, northeast of Clarkton
** Old Rosindale Road near State Road 1700, southeast of Elizabethtown
** Elkton Road near State Road 1700, south of Elizabethtown.
** Lisbon Road near State Road 1708, east of Clarkton
** U.S. 701 near State Road 1143, north of Clarkton
** U.S. 701 near N.C. 87, in Elizabethtown
** Poplar Street near N.C. 87, in Elizabethtown.
CAPE FEAR RIVER
The Cape Fear River flood
** At 9 p.m. Sunday,
** At 9 p.m. Sunday, W.O. Huske Lock near the Bladen-Cumberland county line was 24 feet above flood stage at 66.73 feet. It was expected to crest Monday morning at 69.2 feet, which would be the second-highest in history. The river crests at 75.5 feet on Sept. 22, 1945.
** At Elizabethtown’s Tory Hole Park, the river was expected to crest at 35.8 feet Tuesday morning. That would be the fourth-highest level in history, and the highest since 1945 at 43.2 feet.
** At Lock No. 1 near East Arcadia, the river was about two feet below the 24-foot flood stage. It’s expected to crest at 26.6 feet Wednesday, which would be the second-highest since the record of 29.8 in 1945.
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