As of October 19, Hurricane Matthew has cost the lives of twenty-five North Carolinians, and destroyed countless homes, trees, power lines, and cars. The rainfall from the storm also flooded numerous major thoroughfares throughout eastern North Carolina.
Wake County, while relatively unharmed compared to Cumberland, Robeson, and Nash Counties, was affected harshly by the Category 1 hurricane. As a result of the storm, dozens of thousands of Duke Energy customers in Wake County lost power, including multiple schools. This, along with ”storm damage”, led the Wake County Public School System to close on October 10. One school, the Vernon Malone College and Career Academy, remained closed for the rest of the week due to extensive damage caused by flooding..
In the Leesville area in particular, devastation was obvious. Many streetlights lacked power, causing confusion at major intersections. Many trees were on their sides as a result of the high winds. Some roads were flooded due to heavy rain and rivers bursting their banks.
Morgan Willis, a sophomore at Leesville, saw some of the destruction that Matthew caused. “We had two trees down, one of them crushed our car.” said Willis. She also said that “there was a lot of flooding at Crabtree Valley Mall…on the lower levels.”
As cleanup from the storm continues, only time will tell how Wake County recovers from this disaster.
