Hurricane (Typhoon) — Alamance, North Carolina

1996-09-05 to 1996-09-06 · Alamance, North Carolina

Wider weather episode

Hurricane FRAN was the worst natural economic disaster to occur in North Carolina history. In the RAH county warning area along, the damage exceeded 2 billion dollars. Damage to crops, livestock, farm equipment/buildings was over 400 million. The agricultural damage was the greatest in Sampson, Johnston, and Wayne counties. Several hundred thousand trees were uprooted or broken. Ten's of thousands of homes were damaged by falling trees. In the path of the storm's center, almost every neighborhood was affected.The copious rainfall produced many severe flash and river floods.The flooding on the Haw River at the town of Haw River, the Neuse River at Smithfield and Goldsboro, and the Tar River at Louisburg and Rocky Mount, all neared or exceeded the highest flood on record. Many homes located in the flood plain had to be evacuated. The most massive evacuation occurred in Goldsboro where residents of 550 homes had to be moved to public shelters. Hundreds of cars in Goldsboro were damaged by water, many of which were underwater with only their radio antenna showing. Many homes and businesses incurred heavy losses. Along the Crabtree Creek in Raleigh, which crested at its highest since 1973, hundreds of new cars from local dealerships floated in 6 feet of water. Scores of businesses reported heavy damage at the areas's largest shopping center. The basic necessities of life were missing for several days: milk, bread, drinking water, power, and telephone service. It took more than 10 days for power to be restored in many areas. Schools were closed for a week in the hardest hit counties. Automobile travel was hazardous for days after the storm due to fallen and falling trees. A full twelve days after the event, 150 secondary roads were still closed.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5580042. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.