Tropical Storm — Robeson, North Carolina

2016-10-08 to 2016-10-17 · Robeson, North Carolina

Event narrative

Hurricane Matthew moved up the eastern seaboard, bringing very heavy rain and strong winds. Rainfall amounts over 12 inches occurred in multiple areas of the county. Wind gusts were surprisingly high, with a gust to 67 mph at the Lumberton Airport. Tropical storm force winds and flooded ground caused widespread tree and power line damage. The river gauge at the Lumber River at Lumberton failed, however the high watermark data from the U.S. Geological Survey indicated the water level may have reached over 25 feet. This exceeded the previous record by over 4 feet. This level bypassed the levee that protects parts of Lumberton from the river due to water passing under I-95 via VFR road. One elderly male died in his home on West Fifth Street on 10/9. The man had a heart condition and when power was lost, he was without oxygen. The family believes he may have died of a heart attack and then fell into flood waters which had overtaken his home from the Lumber River. The Lumber River also exceeded record levels at Boardman by about 2.5 feet. This resulted in the closure of U. S. Route 74, the main route between Wilmington and Lumberton. Numerous water rescues were required along and near the Lumber River. Many homes were flooded in Pembroke. This was one of the hardest hit counties due to the historic river flooding. The offices of the Robesonian Newspaper were flooded.

Wider weather episode

Major Hurricane Matthew moved up the southeast coast and slowly weakened to a category 1 storm as it moved up along the South Carolina coast and then eastward near the North Carolina coast. The hurricane brought 6 to 12 inches of rain and up to 18 inches to some areas of southeast North Carolina, with the bulk of the rainfall occurring within a 12 hour period. This rain fell on wet to in some cases saturated soil due to much above normal rainfall in September. The result was historic flooding; widespread flash flooding, and an extended period of major to record river flooding. Matthew's flooding rains, surge and wind brought loss of life, displaced tens of thousands of people, and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in structural damage as homes and businesses were devastated or totally destroyed. Major infrastructure will have to be repaired or rebuilt.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 663407. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.