Second Death Confirmed in North Carolina Flooding

Jon Erdman and Pam Wright
Published: April 27,2017
A Florida woman, who went around a barricade on a flooded North Carolina road, was found dead Thursday in her car as flooding triggered by torrential rain continued to plague the state.
According to the Associated Press, Sandra Berry, 65, of Kissimmee, Florida, died Wednesday night after her car was swept off N.C. 58 in Greene County. Highway Patrol Sgt. Michael Baker said Berry drove around barricades put up to keep vehicles off the flooded highway. Firefighters found her body after someone spotted her car in the water.
Meanwhile, a state of emergency was declared in Edgecombe County on Wednesday. A shelter was opened for those forced to flee their homes because of the flooding.

Estimated rainfall (contours) and reports of flooding (blue dots) in North Carolina in the 24-hour period ending 6:30 a.m. EDT, April 25, 2017.

As floodwaters began to recede in the capital, the Neuse and Tar river levels rose further downstream and are in major flood stages in some areas. They will continue to do so into the weekend, said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce.
(MORE: Your Vehicle Can Be Deadly in a Flash Flood)
State department of Transportation spokesperson Robert Broome said Tuesday that an unidentified body was discovered by a maintenance crew removing debris at a bridge over the Neuse River. Authorities say it is unclear if the death is weather related. On Thursday, authorities had yet to identify the body.
Among the hardest-hit areas was Crabtree Creek north of downtown Raleigh, which rose over 17 feet in 24 hours since Monday morning at Old Wake Forest Road, topping levels at which water enters businesses and homes in the area, and just over 2 feet below its record crest before leveling off.
Floodwaters swamped parking lots at Crabtree Valley Mall, which did not open as scheduled Tuesday.
Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday that "we’ve seen rainfall like we haven’t seen since Hurricane Matthew."

A band of heavy rain intensified and focused in parts of central and eastern North Carolina overnight Monday into early Tuesday. A few locations picked up more than 8 inches of rain since Monday morning, reports the NWS.

Record-Breaking April Rain

In fact, the calendar-day rainfall at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on April 24 set an all-time April record, in 130 years of records, and helped set the city's wettest April record, which had stood since 1895. April is typically the city's driest month, averaging just less than 3 inches for the entire month.
These 8-inch-plus rain totals exceeded those measured in the Raleigh metro area during Hurricane Matthew in early October 2016, though much heavier rain fell in southern North Carolina southward during Matthew.

MORE: Severe Weather in the Midwest, Great Lakes April 10, 2017

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