Flooding in North Carolina prompted water rescues in Chapel Hill and other parts of the state after the storm Chantal dumped heavy rainfall.
More than 23,000 customers in North Carolina were without power on Monday morning, according to poweroutage.us.
Officials were warning people to be cautious on the roads as authorities across multiple counties assessed the damage. Some flood warnings and advisories were still in effect in central North Carolina as of Monday morning.
Chapel Hill flooding
The Chapel Hill Fire Department and neighboring agencies completed more than 50 water rescues, many of them in areas where floodwaters entered or threatened to enter apartments, the Town of Chapel Hill said in a news release early Monday. More than 60 people were displaced. Some rescues also took place at shopping centers, where water flooded parking lots and businesses.
The town warned residents to be careful as they ventured out Monday morning while crews continued to assess the damage. No injuries were reported as of Monday morning, officials said.
In Orange County, where Chapel Hill is primarily located, some roads were washed out, according to the county’s emergency services. About a quarter of electricity customers in the county without power, officials said Monday, adding that they were aware of “a number” of flooded homes and apartments in the community.
The possibility of the failure of the Lake Michael Dam also prompted officials to issue a voluntary evacuation for areas downstream overnight.
Orange Grove Fire Department/Facebook
In neighboring Chatham County, Sheriff Mike Roberson said in a Facebook post that officials were still looking for some missing people Monday morning, after crews were overwhelmed on Sunday night with rescues.
“Just because the water may have subsided in some areas it is still dangerous to travel in some places,” he said. “Please slow down and use caution until a full assessment can be done today.”
Haw River crests at 32.5 feet
The Haw River crested early Monday at 32.5 feet, the second highest river stage ever recorded at the Town of Haw River. That level was only eclipsed by Hurricane Fran in 1996 when the stage reached 32.83 feet, according to a post from the National Weather Service’s Raleigh office.
Eno River flooding in Durham County
The Eno River crested early Monday at Durham at 25.63 feet, surpassing the previous record of 23.6 feet, according the National Water Prediction Service’s website. It caused major flooding and about 80 people were rescued by boat, while dozens of others were evacuated on foot, CBS affiliate WNCN reported, citing authorities.
Durham fire officials said dozens of homes and apartments needed to be evacuated as the water level started to reach the tops of vehicles. There were no injuries, and water rescue operations were over as of Monday morning, officials said.
North Carolina weather
Chantal made landfall in South Carolina on Sunday as a tropical storm before dumping what the National Weather Service in Raleigh called “a considerable amount” of rainfall over a narrow swath of central North Carolina.
“Rivers, creeks and streams will remain elevated, fast moving and dangerous over the next few days,” the weather service said early Monday.
The storm is expected to continue northeast through mid-Atlantic states Monday as a tropical depression and is forecast to brush the southern New England coast Monday night into Tuesday morning, according to the Weather Prediction Center.
Rainfall amounts of up to 10 inches have already been reported in portions of the interior mid-Atlantic, and the possibility of 3 to 6 inches more was expected to raise flash flooding concerns, particularly to the northwest of Chantal’s path through Monday night.
Forecasters warned of dangerous surf and rip currents at beaches from northeastern Florida to the mid-Atlantic states for the next couple of days.