5 North Carolina river sites fail fecal bacteria testing; warning at coast for Portuguese man o' war
More than 10 inches of rain fell in just hours in parts of Orange and Chatham counties Sunday night into Monday morning as Tropical Depression Chantal moved through North Carolina. Just under 8 inches fell in Durham County, with 9.73 inches in Alamance County.
In Durham, the city reported nearly 7 million gallons of raw sewage flowed into the Eno River, while Hillsborough leaders are still working to determine how much escaped their system. The 'heavy rain' likely led to more bacteria in rivers, officials said.
Meanwhile, on Friday, at an island in Carteret County, a painful nuisance returned to beaches: Portuguese man o' war. Emerald Isle officials warned about the very painful sea creatures along the sand and water.
North Carolina rainfall totals from Chantal — data from 50+ sites
The creatures — featuring a balloon-like float that can be blue, purple or pink — have tentacles that average 30 feet long but can extend to 100 feet, scientists say. Their stings rarely kill people but are very painful.
'Purple flags will be flying as we have seen Portuguese man o' war along our beach strand. These flags fly on the lifeguard towers and patrol vehicles,' Emerald Isle officials wrote Friday, noting the creatures were gone on Saturday.
The non-profit group, Sound Rivers, tests about 50 sites along North Carolina rivers each week during the summer. The checks are for E. coli to determine if swimming areas are safe.
In the Raleigh area, two sites failed on the Neuse River: the Buffaloe Road canoe launch and the Poole Road canoe launch.
'There's been some heavy rain lately, so that stormwater runoff can put a lot of bacteria in our waterways,' said Clay Barber, program director for Sound Rivers.
Along the Lower Neuse River, three sites failed testing by Sound Rivers, the group said. The trio is Bridgeton Park near New Bern, Glenburnie in New Bern and Slocum Creek in Havelock, Sound Rivers reported.
'When a site fails, you need to be smart about recreating on the water — don't go into the water if you have any open wounds and don't put your head under water if you do go in,' Barber said.
Closer to the coast, all sites in the Tar-Pamlico Watershed passed the testing, although seven sites were not tested this week.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
10 hours ago
- USA Today
National Hurricane Center watching another potential storm off Southeast coast
Signals strung out across the Atlantic Ocean indicate the 2025 hurricane season may be kicking into a more active gear in the days ahead, but a disturbance a little closer to the U.S. has drawn the attention of the National Hurricane Center. In a July 22 update, the hurricane center flagged a low pressure area off Northeast Florida that showed some chance of developing after it crosses over Florida into the Gulf of America, renamed from the Gulf of Mexico, later in the week. The system is forecast to move in a west-southwestward direction into the north-central Gulf where it may encounter conditions that could allow for some slow development if it remained far enough from shore, according to a hurricane center update from Philippe Papin, a hurricane specialist. Papin's forecast put the chances of development at only 10% over seven days, predicting the system is likely to move inland by the weekend. Either way it's likely to mean a few more days of heavy rain along the northern Gulf Coast, forecasters say. "Expect rain and storm chances to increase towards the end of the week as this disturbance moves in, though it's too early to say much with certainty beyond that," the National Weather Service office in Houston posted on its social media. In Lake Charles, Louisiana, the weather service noted the amount of moisture in the air is expected to surge to the maximum amount possible by the afternoon of July 24. Deja vu disturbance? If the hurricane center's tropical outlook map looks familiar, that's because a similar scenario has played out twice in recent weeks. On July 5, Tropical Storm Chantal formed from a low pressure area off the southeastern United States. Chantal went on to cause flooding in parts of North Carolina, and was blamed for at least six deaths. Then on July 12, the hurricane center started watching another potential low pressure area off the southeastern coast, which then slogged across the Florida peninsula with heavy rain on July 15 and then along the state's Panhandle. It remained disorganized and moved over southeastern Louisiana on July 17. Chantal was a little earlier than normal for the third named storm of the season, according to Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist and co-author of a seasonal outlook from Colorado State University. On average the third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season forms on August 3. After all the seasonal outlooks predicting a busy season, it may seem like the 2025 season is off to a slow start, but hurricane experts don't expect things to stay quiet. Ocean temperatures are warming more than normally expected in an area of the Atlantic called the "main development region," called that because of its propensity to crank out some of the strongest storms, hurricane specialist Michael Lowry wrote in a July 22 post on his Substack blog. Sea surface temperatures have risen sharply in the region in July. Warmer seas can help fuel any potential storm systems that form in the region. How do hurricanes form? An inside look at the birth and power of ferocious storms Lowry credits the current warming in the Atlantic to a weakening of the Bermuda High, a pattern of high pressure that expands and shrinks over the western Atlantic and heavily influences hurricane movement. "After some of the strongest trade winds on record to start the year, and the strongest June trade winds since 1990," trade winds in July have been the weakest since at least 1979, wrote Lowry, a hurricane center veteran and now a specialist at WPLG 10 in Miami. Other signals including a periodic oscillation over the ocean that influences hurricane activity and a shift in the monsoon winds in North Africa also signal a potential increase in activity. Dinah Voyles Pulver covers climate change and the environment for USA TODAY. She's written about hurricanes, tornadoes and violent weather for more than 30 years. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
Forbes
19 hours ago
- Forbes
Spanish Catastrophe Insurance Is World-Leading. How Will It Deal With Escalating Climate Change?
A resident of Chiva, Spain cleans the outside of her home after flooding in November 2024. ... More (Photographer: Angel Garcia) When Andriy Drohorub, his wife, and their two daughters left Ukraine for Spain in June 2024, they were seeking a safer life. Two months later Drohorub bought a ground-floor apartment in the village of Alfafara. There was so much to do—learning Spanish, trying to get his medical credentials recognized, looking for online work in the meantime—that he didn't have time to buy insurance. Because he didn't need a mortgage, he wasn't required to take out home insurance. The family had only been in their new home for four months when, in late October, intense rainfall led to flooding in southern and eastern Spain. The violence of the gushing water was intense. Windows blew out, chunks of the walls peeled off, and furniture was knocked over. Mud and debris accumulated everywhere. 'The house was completely destroyed,' Drohorub reports. It could have been even worse. An elderly neighbor died, one of at least 232 people to die in the floods caused by the weather phenomenon known as DANA (Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos). Emergency alerts came too late for many. In the aftermath, as the family sought to rebuild their lives again, Drohorub wasn't able to obtain government help. He had to take out a loan to make repairs. He's grateful to rescuers, police, and volunteers who helped the family with furniture and appliances. 'The people here are very friendly and close-knit, but the state has a lot of bureaucracy and everything is very slow,' Drohorub feels. Though the apartment isn't back to 100%, it's now liveable again. One question is whether insurance could have helped the family get back on its feet earlier, and without turning to debt. How Spanish Catastrophe Insurance Works The Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (CCS – Insurance Compensation Consortium) is the Spanish system for protecting insured people from extraordinary risks. It was set up in 1941, after the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War. CCS is a public company run by government officials and representatives of private insurance companies. Anyone with life, accident, property, or business interruption insurance is covered under CCS. This encompasses 140 million policies. The consortium is funded by a 0.15% charge on the gross premiums, which insurers are required to collect. For a car owner, this amounts to about €2 a year. For the owner of a €200,000 home, this would be €14. Though small, this surcharge embeds a kind of solidarity among all insurance policyholders in Spain, believes Francisco Espejo Gil, the assistant director for research and international relations at CCS. Whether they're in a flood-prone part of Spain or not, everyone pays the same. He refers to this as 'a community insurance at a national scale.' In Espejo's view, everybody wins: insurers have a secure market (albeit with less flexibility). Individuals have guaranteed coverage for extraordinary events (as long as they're covered for ordinary ones). And public emergency budgets are kept in check by an insurance system that most people opt into (about 80% of residential properties are covered, according to Espejo). This isn't a system just for the rich or just for the poor—most groups are covered. However, it's not a perfect system. Some home and car owners are disappointed and confused by low appraisals of their damaged property. Some are angry at delays in processing claims. Espejo says that CCS aims to pay about 80% of the total losses in the first four months of an extraordinary event. According to him, that target is normally achieved for small to medium events. Of course, the Valencia flooding was a very large and devastating event. CCS has now paid out almost all of the home and car claims, but the processing rates are lower for industrial and civil infrastructure, which involves more complex assessments. Cascading Climate Risks Then there's the threat multiplier of climate change. DANA has been the costliest event in CCS' 70-year history. CCS paid out more in DANA claims than in the next 10 most expensive events combined. 'This was a very serious outlier in terms of frequency and intensity. Truly we are witnessing an intensification in both hazard and exposure,' Espejo says somberly. The flooding didn't break CCS, but with losses amounting to €4.5 billion, it came close to the probable maximum loss of over €5 billion. A man sits behind a pile of mud in Paiporta, Spain, following flooding in November 2024. ... More (Photographer: Jose Jordan) Espejo, a meteorologist, explains, 'The Mediterranean Sea is reaching sea surface temperature of nearly or above 30° in the summer, and that's a weather bomb. For each degree that the temperature of the air rises, the capacity of the atmosphere to hold water vapor rises by 7%.' A hotter sea and a more humid atmosphere mean a greater capacity for heavy rain, flash floods, and widespread damage. 'Very likely this is going to be the future not only for Spain, for all of us in central and southern Europe.' María José Sanz Sánchez, the scientific director of the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) in Bilbao, warns that 'even the best insurance schemes in the world, like the Spanish one,' may struggle as extreme climate-linked events increase. Along with the intensity and frequency, the unpredictability of extreme events is growing. Cathal Carr, founder of the reinsurance company OAK Re, says that companies like his would generally look at the previous 50–100 years' worth of data to model risks. This is no longer sufficient. CCS may also need to change course. It covers agricultural insurance and catastrophic risk insurance. The aim of the latter is to provide a buffer against catastrophes both natural (earthquakes) and human (terrorism). Increasingly, the division between a 'natural' disaster and one caused by humans is becoming blurrier. Over CCS' existence, extreme daily rainfall in September–December in central and southeastern Spain has become twice as likely, and 12% more intense, due to human-caused climate change. Most CCS claims have been related to floods. CCS stopped covering hail in the 1980s, though it continues to be a threat. A hailstorm affected Valencia around the same time as the floods last autumn. So far, wildfires are not yet included, but could be part of CCS coverage in the future if the damages increase. When determining what to cover, CCS distinguishes between climate hazards (for example, it does not cover heatwaves) and hydrometeorological hazards (for example, it does cover drought). The consortium's perspective is that these have different implications for insurance. In practice, however, the effects are interlinked, particularly as climate variability intensifies. Espejo likes to explain the distinction by specifying that private companies 'cover water damages when the water comes from the roof and we cover water damages when the water comes by the door.' In other words, hail damage is covered by the private market, which is free to apply risk-reflective premiums. Crop insurance for droughts falls under CCS' purview. The 0.15% surcharge will probably need to be raised if extraordinary events increase, Espejo acknowledges. This would mark a change. In the 21st century, the charge has only been lowered (in view of the health of the insurance market). An even more complex question is whether having a reliable catastrophe insurer discourages individuals and communities from reducing risk in the first place. 'We have to make a choice,' Espejo responds. 'And our choice is to favor the availability and the existence of insurance,' rather than leaving people vulnerable through less affordable or accessible insurance. Global Fragmentation While climate-related disasters have led to insurer pullouts in vulnerable areas like California, CCS has ensured a stable base for insurance companies, which continue to be profitable in Spain in spite of its climate exposure. Compared to other European countries, the combined ratio of Spanish insurance is generally much lower (more profitable) and more stable, says Ekaterina Ishchenko, a director at Fitch Ratings, a credit rating agency, in Madrid. 'I think in general it's quite positive for particular countries' insurance sectors to have a scheme like that, but that's of course based on the political will,' Ishchenko comments. In Spain, 'I think that it has demonstrated that it works really well for the sector and for the country.' France has a similar system, but Germany does not. 'I think Germany is a bit behind on this front,' comments Alberto Messina, a senior director at Fitch Ratings in Frankfurt. 'There's been political discussions again, which obviously usually intensify right after an event occurs, and then perhaps fade away a bit after that.' Overall, Messina believes, 'The direction of travel is towards the Spain model. And I think the spirit based on which other countries are moving is essentially not to do a favor to the insurers, but to protect businesses and customers, in the sense that it's just cheaper and safer to prevent as opposed to wait for the event to occur and then rebuild from scratch. So I think that's what they're trying to achieve now, in order to build resilience and business continuity and avoid disruptions.' There are both logistical and ideological reasons that not all countries will adopt a Spain-style model for catastrophe insurance. In some places, people living outside of flood risk zones, for instance, might balk at the idea of paying the same insurance surcharge as people in more vulnerable areas. Though it may not be palatable everywhere, this goes back to that idea of solidarity that animates CCS. Sanz, the Valencia-born climate scientist, believes that the general principle behind CCS is very much needed in an era of spiralling climate impacts. That is, everyone has to contribute and share the for this story was supported in part by a press trip organized by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia.
News24
20 hours ago
- News24
Wednesday's weather: Heavy rain in KZN; foggy morning for most parts
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of disruptive rainfall, which may lead to localised flooding in KwaZulu-Natal while foggy conditions are expected in most parts of the country. Impact-based warnings - Yellow Level 2 warning for disruptive rainfall along the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal. Expected impacts include localised flooding of susceptible formal/informal settlements, roads, low-lying areas, and bridges; slippery roads possibly causing minor vehicle accidents and difficult driving conditions, particularly on dirt roads. In the SAWS' colour-coded weather warning system, yellow indicates a moderate risk of impact that requires caution and awareness, while orange indicates that higher-risk impact is expected, requiring increased attention and preparation. SAWS uses the numbers to indicate the likelihood of weather-based impacts occurring. Levels 2 and 6 are high, and Level 4 is low. The weather in your province Gauteng: Morning fog patches in the south and central areas, clearing to a partly cloudy day. Cold conditions persist, but it will be slightly warmer in the north. Mpumalanga: Fog patches expected along the escarpment in the morning, with a partly cloudy and cold day ahead. Cool conditions in the east accompanied by isolated showers, except in the extreme west. Mbombela: 11°C — 20°C Ermelo: 6°C — 14°C Emalahleni: 6°C — 16°C Standerton: 7°C — 15°C Skukuza: 14°C — 23°C Limpopo: Morning fog along the escarpment, then partly cloudy and cool conditions throughout the province. Isolated showers are anticipated in the east. Polokwane: 9°C — 17°C Phalaborwa: 15°C — 23°C Tzaneen: 11°C — 17°C Musina: 15°C — 21°C Lephalale: 12°C — 20°C Mokopane: 10°C — 18°C North West: A partly cloudy and cool day with isolated showers and thundershowers expected in the western areas. Klerksdorp: 6°C — 19°C Potchefstroom: 6°C — 18°C Mahikeng: 7°C — 19°C Rustenburg: 7°C — 19°C Vryburg: 7°C — 19°C Free State: Cloudy start with morning fog in the eastern areas, clearing to partly cloudy skies. Cold to cool temperatures with isolated showers and thundershowers, except in the northern parts. Bloemfontein: 6°C — 18°C Welkom: 8°C — 18°C Bethlehem: 4°C — 15°C Northern Cape: Morning fog along the northern coastal areas, followed by partly cloudy and cool to warm conditions. Isolated showers and thundershowers likely in the east and central areas during the afternoon. Coastal winds: Moderate to fresh south-easterly. Upington: 9°C — 23°C Kimberley: 8°C — 20°C De Aar: 7°C — 17°C Alexander Bay: 8°C — 19°C Springbok: 11°C — 22°C Calvinia: 5°C — 24°C Sutherland: 4°C — 19°C Western Cape: Morning mist or fog patches in the northern and southwestern regions, transitioning to a fine and cool-to-warm day. Isolated showers and thundershowers may occur in the extreme northeastern areas in the afternoon. Coastal winds: Moderate to fresh southerly to south-easterly, with light to moderate north-easterlies along the south coast in the morning. Western half of the Eastern Cape: Morning fog in parts of the interior, leading to a fine and cool day. Partly cloudy skies with isolated afternoon thundershowers possible in the north. Coastal winds: Light north-easterly, becoming south-westerly by the afternoon. Eastern Half of the Eastern Cape: Foggy morning conditions in the interior, followed by fine and cool weather. Northern regions may experience isolated afternoon thundershowers. Coastal winds: Light to moderate north-easterly. Gqberha: 9°C — 21°C Makhanda: 7°C — 22°C Cradock: 5°C — 19°C Graaff-Reinet: 5°C — 21°C East London: 13°C — 22°C Port St Johns: 11°C — 21°C Mthatha: 7°C — 21°C Komani: 5°C — 19°C Qonce: 6°C — 23°C KwaZulu-Natal: Foggy patches in the interior in the morning, giving way to partly cloudy and cool weather, with colder conditions in the west. Isolated showers and rain expected, becoming scattered along the north coast. Coastal winds: Moderate to fresh southerly to south-westerly, turning north-easterly in the extreme south and moving up to Richards Bay by late afternoon. South-easterly winds expected in the north from late morning. * This weather report was written with the support of Toqan AI.
