Tropical Storm — Columbus, North Carolina

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

Event narrative

Hurricane Matthew moved up the eastern seaboard, bringing very heavy rain and wind to the region. The peak wind for the county occurred at Whiteville, with a measured gust of 59 mph. Tropical storm force winds and flooded ground caused widespread tree and power line damage. Trees fell across some roadways to include Madison Street. Rainfall was substantial, with amounts ranging from 8 to 13 inches and as much as 18 inches. Major river flooding occurred in the western portion of the county along the Lumber River, particularly in the town of Fair Bluff where 85 percent of the town was under water resulting in massive evacuations. Highways 701, 74, and 130 all experienced lengthy road closures due to flooding. The Crusoe Island community, south of Lake Waccamaw experienced significant flooding. One man died in Nakina when he left his son's house and never returned home. The time of death is believed to be around 530 pm on October 9. His truck was discovered a few days later on Gore Chapel Road. He died in the flood waters associated with the Waccamaw River. Columbus County Emergency Management estimated more than 91 million dollars in storm damage across the county.

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 663564. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.