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Washington Post
5 days ago
- Climate
- Washington Post
Severe weather in tropical storm's wake triggers North Carolina state of emergency
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina can seek federal funding to help its overloaded response efforts to Tropical Storm Chantal , which killed at least six people and left damage from flooding in its wake, as Gov. Josh Stein announced a state of emergency Thursday. A one-two punch from Chantal followed by severe weather in the state's center has 'overwhelmed the response and recovery efforts of local governments,' according to Stein's executive order. Some rivers reached record-breaking levels from the storm, including the Eno River in Durham, one of several cities where some residents lost access to safe drinking water because of damage to the water system. In some places, the storm dumped as much as 9 to 12 inches of rain, according to the governor's office. Chantal hit at the end of the July Fourth weekend, and several days of severe weather plowed through as people were still picking up the pieces from damage caused by the tropical storm's remnants. The emergency declaration, which took effect Wednesday, jumpstarts the process for North Carolina to seek federal recovery assistance if needed. It covers 13 counties in the state's center, some of which are home to populous cities like Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. Local law enforcement agencies have confirmed at least six deaths from the storm. Businesses were wrecked and many residents were displaced from their homes after emergency responders rescued them from flooding. A 58-year-old woman called 911 on her way to work after her SUV got caught in floodwaters, but the call disconnected and she was later found dead a little ways from her unoccupied vehicle, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Rescuers searched for days in Chatham County only to find two missing canoers had died, the county sheriff's office said, while another woman died when floodwaters swept her vehicle off the road, the State Highway Patrol said. Two people died in Alamance County, including a missing 71-year-old man found dead inside his vehicle covered in flowing water, the sheriff's office said. The Graham County Police Department said a missing 23-year-old woman was found dead inside a submerged vehicle. Many people were also rescued during the storm. In one neighborhood north of Durham, the city's fire department said it did more than 80 water rescues amid the flooding. The fire department in Chapel Hill rescued more than 50 people while teaming up with neighboring agencies, mostly near apartments, officials said.
Al Arabiya
5 days ago
- Climate
- Al Arabiya
Severe weather in tropical storm's wake triggers North Carolina state of emergency
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina can seek federal funding to help its overloaded response efforts to Tropical Storm Chantal, which killed at least six people and left damage from flooding in its wake, as Gov. Josh Stein announced a state of emergency Thursday. A one-two punch from Chantal, followed by severe weather in the state's center, has overwhelmed the response and recovery efforts of local governments, according to Stein's executive order. Some rivers reached record-breaking levels from the storm, including the Eno River in Durham, one of several cities where some residents lost access to safe drinking water because of damage to the water system. In some places, the storm dumped as much as 9 to 12 inches of rain, according to the governor's office. Chantal hit at the end of the July Fourth weekend, and several days of severe weather plowed through as people were still picking up the pieces from damage caused by the tropical storm's remnants. The emergency declaration, which took effect Wednesday, jumpstarts the process for North Carolina to seek federal recovery assistance if needed. It covers 13 counties in the state's center, some of which are home to populous cities like Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Local law enforcement agencies have confirmed at least six deaths from the storm. Businesses were wrecked, and many residents were displaced from their homes after emergency responders rescued them from flooding. A 58-year-old woman called 911 on her way to work after her SUV got caught in floodwaters, but the call disconnected, and she was later found dead a little ways from her unoccupied vehicle, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Rescuers searched for days in Chatham County only to find two missing canoers had died, the county sheriff's office said, while another woman died when floodwaters swept her vehicle off the road, the State Highway Patrol said. Two people died in Alamance County, including a missing 71-year-old man found dead inside his vehicle covered in flowing water, the sheriff's office said. The Graham County Police Department said a missing 23-year-old woman was found dead inside a submerged vehicle. Many people were also rescued during the storm. In one neighborhood north of Durham, the city's fire department said it did more than 80 water rescues amid the flooding. The fire department in Chapel Hill rescued more than 50 people while teaming up with neighboring agencies, mostly near apartments, officials said.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
5 North Carolina river sites fail fecal bacteria testing; warning at coast for Portuguese man o' war
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — After historic flooding in central North Carolina earlier this week, five swimming sites along rivers failed testing for fecal bacteria and at the coast Portuguese man o' war were spotted along one beach. 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.
CNN
10-07-2025
- Climate
- CNN
Is the US seeing worse flooding this summer? Here's what's happening
Climate changeFacebookTweetLink Follow Texas. North Carolina. Illinois. New Mexico. Flash flooding has surged into the spotlight in the last week with record-breaking flood events occurring nearly back-to-back across the country. Slow-moving thunderstorms in Texas unleashed more than an entire summer's worth of rain on July 4, sending water surging over river banks and killing at least 120 people. The same weekend, Tropical Storm Chantal poured nearly a foot of rain over parts of central North Carolina, causing the Eno River to crest at over 25 feet and shattering a record previously set during Hurricane Fran in 1996. The flooding killed at least six people. Tuesday brought both a 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event to Chicago and storms that caused unprecedented levels of flooding in the mountain village of Ruidoso, New Mexico, that swept away homes and left three people dead. These events were all extreme and came in quick succession — here's why they happened now and why floods are becoming more intense. Flash floods are most common in the summer months, when intense daytime heat helps fuel thunderstorms. Warmer air can also hold more moisture, giving storms more potential to produce higher rainfall rates than when temperatures are cooler. In Texas, storms were fueled by record levels of atmospheric moisture lingering from the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry. In North Carolina, Chantal's tropical moisture played a similar role, helping to drive the intense rainfall that led to deadly flash flooding. Summer storms also tend to move more slowly. That's partly because upper-level winds in the atmosphere weaken during summer when there's less of a temperature difference between the equator and the Earth's poles and the jet stream shifts farther north. When storms slow down or stall, rain can pile up over the same area for hours and fall faster than the ground can absorb it or infrastructure can drain it, setting the stage for a flash flood. That's what happened in Texas' Hill Country, where a nearly stationary thunderstorm dumped over 7 inches of rain, and in Chicago, where a stalled storm system dropped as much as 5 inches of rain in just 90 minutes, quickly inundating low-lying streets and some homes. In urban areas, pavement and asphalt can cause even more problems, keeping water from soaking into the ground and sending it instead toward storm drains that can quickly overflow or become clogged with debris. Prev Next A history of wildfires also increases an area's risk of flash flooding, as Ruidoso has seen since last summer's devastating South Fork and Salt Fires. When vegetation burns away, landscapes lose their natural ability to absorb and slow down rainwater. On top of that, the extreme heat of a fire can alter the soil itself, creating a water-repellent layer just below the surface. Rainfall on this 'burn scarred' land tends to run off rapidly — especially in steep terrain — increasing flash flooding risks even if a storm's rainfall isn't extreme. Ruidoso and nearby areas have been under at least 12 separate flash flood emergencies since the 2024 wildfires. Droughts have a similar effect: When soil dries out over long periods, it can become compacted or even crusted over, reducing its ability to absorb water. Severe to extreme preexisting drought conditions helped amplify flooding in both Texas and New Mexico over the past week. Climate change from fossil fuel pollution is amplifying the conditions that make flash floods more likely and more severe. For every degree Celsius (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming, the atmosphere can hold roughly 7% more water vapor — giving storms more fuel for intense rainfall. And as the overall global temperature increases, moisture-rich air that was once confined to the warm tropics can reach farther from the equator, bringing intense, tropical rainfall to more parts of the world. At the same time, wildfires and droughts are becoming more frequent and severe as the world warms, leading to more burn scars and flood vulnerability in fire-prone regions. Hourly rainfall rates have grown heavier in nearly 90% of large US cities since 1970, according to a recent study from the nonprofit research group Climate Central. In Chicago, for example, the average intensity has gone up 8%, and Tuesday's staggering rainfall rates surpassed records set in the 1970s for the city's most extreme short-duration rainfall. Many of the nation's roads, sewers and drainage systems were not designed to handle the kind of rainfall events that are now becoming more common. Flash flooding has always been a summertime threat, but the risks are evolving. As the atmosphere warms and rainfall patterns continue to shift, more communities could face extreme rainfall events in the years ahead.
