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W

hile Oriental had simple cleanup after Hurricane Matthew, some Eastern North Carolina communities were so badly flooded that they have yet to grasp the extent of the damage. Perhaps the hardest hit was Princeville, a town of 2,000 people near Tarboro, NC.

This week five Pamlico County firefighters volunteered to assist.

Volunteer Eric Kindle has written in with a report of life on the ground in Princeville, and included astonishing photos. Princeville remains flooded at this writing.

Eric wrote in Tuesday:
We are just outside of Tarboro, in Princeville. The town is still underwater, including their fire dept. At its height, the water was 13 ft in the department.

We are staying in a shelter tent in an abandoned gas station parking lot. Most of the town does not have power, sewer, or running water.

We are here with one engine company:

Eric Kindle: Firefighter/Paramedic
Tracy Riddle: Firefighter
Dwayne Croom: Firefighter/Medical Responder
Daniel Suggs: Firefighter/Medical Responder
Chris Murray: Pamlico County Emergency Manager

Thankfully, we have generator power and satellite internet, but no real power, running water, or bathroom facilities.

Apparently, after Floyd they built dikes etc. along the Tar River, which did their job this time. However, a little ways upriver the dikes and the water backed up. It came around the back side of it , and flooded the entire city of Princeville and portions of Tarboro.
Hundreds of people are still in shelters.

We are here to:
Handle their fire calls
First respond to medical calls
Assist in clearing debris from roads
Possibly searching houses to ensure everyone got out (not sure if this is needed).
Example – today we were sent to large farm chemical supply warehouse to ensure it’s integrity etc.
…and anything else that comes up, they are still trying to figure stuff out!

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Eric’s Wednesday morning update:
Learning more about things here. Most of the people left their homes with pretty much just the clothes on their backs. Some are lucky and will return home, when permitted, to intact homes. Others, including some of the local firefighters, have lost everything.

FYI: It is an all volunteer department, so they don’t have ‘city’ resources etc. We already have groups back in Pamlico working on supplies (non-perishable foods, toiletries, and clothes) for these people. The usual avenues for help are in the works (Red Cross, shelters, etc.), but they are slow and ‘non-specific’, whereas we are getting lists of specific needs and clothes sizes.

Spent the day yesterday doing damage assessment, securing propane tanks, addressing domesticated animals etc. As you can see from the photos, there are still houses we cannot get to just yet. They say everyone was evacuated, but can’t confirm that. Today we will continue damage assessment and begin checking homes.

Water levels are going down. Downtown Princeville is essentially a little valley, so they are actively pumping water out. The Army Corps of Engineers have huge portable pumps that are pumping water back into the Tar River.

A pump

Pumping out Princeville

More photos of the flooding in Princeville, NC. All photos by Eric Kindle.

Posted Wednesday October 19, 2016 by Keith N. Smith