Top Stories of 2016, No. 1: Hurricane Matthew floods northern Pender, erodes beaches

Dec. 30--SOUTHEASTERN N.C. -- Steven Woodcock was in a race against the clock earlier this month to finish the floors in his home before Christmas.

The house he rents off N.C. 210 flooded with two feet of water in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Little was salvaged from his home and he had to explain to his young children why all their toys were gone.

But for most in Canetuck and Currie, the loss of belongings is only half of the hardship. Being tangled in the web of disaster relief funding and carrying on while displaced hurt just as much. Most flood victims are still weeks away from returning home.

"I've been just carrying all my kid's presents around in my truck," Woodcock said, before Christmas. His kids often worry or have anxiety after they had to move 30 minutes down the road and stay with a friend.

Those displaced have been out of their homes since a mandatory evacuation before the flood Oct. 11. Rescuers picked up dozens of residents by helicopter to bring them to safety. Dozens of animals were rescued too.

As the residents of coastal Pender County breathed a sigh of relief when Hurricane Matthew whipped northward Oct. 8, those in Canetuck, Currie and Burgaw, like Woodcock, held their breath.

All weather patterns indicated Matthew looked eerily similar to Hurricane Floyd and residents along the Black River took notice. Anyone flooded out in Floyd knew if that was the case, the area would flood deeply and quickly in the days after the storm when water flowed south into the Black River basin and Northeast Cape Fear River.

It took more than a week from the hurricane for the Black River to crest at 19.3 feet -- it's highest level since Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

Elsewhere, the storm inflicted significant erosion along some beaches, especially in Brunswick County, robbing sections of Oak Island of its dunes.

Still rebuilding

Chris Gainey navigated a boat along Canetuck Road during the floods helping get residents to rescue helicopters.

"I saw things I never want to see again in my life," Gainey said. "I saw deer on the hoods of cars. People say chickens can't swim -- well I've seen them swim."

He saw chickens roosting on the backs of dogs and cows as water rushed past them.

Gainey's family is experiencing real loss after the flood hit their historic home built in 1901. It was he and his wife's dream fixer-upper. New flooring, a new kitchen and multiple smaller updates were all erased after their home on Rattlesnake Road was gutted. His daughters, like Woodcock's, are experiencing anxiety in being displaced from home. During Hurricane Floyd the water never even got into the yard, he said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is still in the process of a substantial damage survey. Once completed, the county will know which of the more than 20 homes that were deemed a total loss can build back, or be barred from doing so if they have seen repetitive damages.

"We are still healing very slowly," said Tom Collins, Pender County's emergency management director.

Pender County is still collecting vegetative and construction debris and will likely being doing so throughout the month of January. More than 650 homes in the county experienced some sort of damage. Officials told residents to dispose of anything the silty water touched -- furnishings, drywall, cabinets, prized possessions -- to prevent mold growth. More than eight faith-based organizations based locally helped gut the insides of flooded homes. The county cannot be reimbursed by FEMA until they have finished totaling their expenses, Collins said.

FEMA has given out more than $1.8 million for individual assistance in the area since November.

Brunswick Beaches

Hurricane Matthew caused significant damage to beaches in Brunswick and Pender counties. Every beach community in Brunswick County reported erosion: Sunset Beach, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Caswell Beach, Oak Island and Bald Head Island. Topsail Island beaches in Pender County, including Surf City and Topsail Beach, also suffered erosion while New Hanover County beaches reported some erosion.

The state granted coastal communities emergency general permits allowing them to recover washed-away dune sand and bulldoze it back into place. The towns and their collective homeowners can exercise the permits with a minimum of paperwork and expense.

Since the storm, erosion has been a hot topic in Ocean Isle Beach, where the town received a CAMA major permit for a proposed terminal groin project. Town officials hope a terminal groin will be a long-term solution to battling erosion.

In Oak Island, town officials will decide whether to replace the Oak Island Pier or fix it after storm surging waves took out a portion of it. The pier opened for business two weeks later but its long-term fate is still up in the air.

The town will likely make a decision in January when proposals from an engineering company are completed, as well as a report from insurance adjusters.

Reporter Ashley Morris can be reached at 910-343-2096 or [email protected]

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