Thread: Floods prompt water rescues, road closings in North Carolina

Floods prompt water rescues, road closings in North Carolina

By Janet DiGiacomo and Greg Botelho, CNN
updated 5:42 PM EDT, Sat July 27, 2013


Officials in Catawba County, North Carolina, declared a state of emergency due to heavy flooding on Saturday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Flood warnings are in effect for parts of North Carolina
• A state of emergency has been declared in Catawba County, a county official says
• First responders conduct swift water rescues to help people out of homes, cars

(CNN) -- First responders raced to save people stuck in fast-moving waters and closed dozens of roads Saturday in western North Carolina due to major flooding.

As of 3 p.m., authorities in Catawba County -- in North Carolina's Piedmont region and including the cities of Newton and Hickory -- had done 10 swift-water rescues for residents needing help getting out of their homes and vehicles, said Mark Pettit, an emergency official in the county.

Some 52 roads in the inland county had been closed at that point, six of which might not see any traffic for as long as three months, according to Pettit. The flooding prompted county officials to declare a state of emergency.

Even without rain falling mid-Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service has issued a flood warning through midnight Sunday.

The advisory noted that up to 8 inches of rain had fallen in many areas that feed into the Catawba River Basin. Flash flood watches are also in effect for parts of North and South Carolina.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/27/us/north-carolina-flooding/index.html?eref=googletoolbar

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