by Central North Carolina is reeling from the devastating aftermath of Tropical Storm Chantal, which brought torrential rain, flooding, and tornados, leading to four confirmed deaths, more than 200 rescues, and over 60 roads still closed as of Tuesday.
Key Impacts
- Rainfall totals exceeded 10 inches in several areas, with Southern Pines recording nearly half a billion gallons in a matter of hours.
- Officials in Moore County called the storm a 500- to 1,000-year flood event.
- Four tornadoes were confirmed, along with catastrophic flash flooding.
- Businesses and homes flooded, dams and retaining walls failed, and roads were washed away across multiple counties.
Fatalities
- Sandra Portnoy Hirschman, 83, was killed when her car was swept off a flooded road in Chatham County.
- Monica Butner, 58, was found dead Monday after vanishing during Sunday night’s storm in Orange County.
- One man drowned and another is missing after a canoe capsized on Jordan Lake Sunday.
- A fourth victim died in a vehicle during flooding in Mebane, Alamance County.
Rescues and Evacuations
- Chapel Hill: Over 50 water rescues, with 60 residents displaced.
- Southern Pines: 54 emergency calls, many for stranded motorists and flooded homes.
- Orange County: 60+ rescues, including 65 people aided in just two hours by the Orange Rural Fire Department.
- Durham: Over 80 people rescued from flooding in the Old Farm area and other locations.
- Wake County: Four people rescued by the Northern Wake Fire Department in Durham.
- Alamance County: At least 11 water rescues, including several from the Haw River flooding.
Road Closures and Damage
- As of Tuesday, 65 roads remained closed, with 27 closures in Chatham County alone.
- I-40/85, a major corridor, was briefly shut down by flooding Sunday night.
- Dozens of other roads were washed out or rendered impassable by floodwaters across Chatham, Alamance, Orange, Durham, and Person counties.
Emergency Response and Outlook
- Recovery operations and damage assessments are underway.
- Officials continue to urge residents to avoid flooded areas, monitor local alerts, and report missing persons.
- No official damage cost estimates have been released yet.
Tropical Storm Chantal’s destructive path through North Carolina has marked one of the region’s most severe weather events in recent memory, drawing comparisons to rare, multi-century-level flood disasters.
