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Tropical storm Fay drenches town, causes flooding

Posted on August 28, 2008August 28, 2008 by Staff

Susan Dickson

Heavy rain and thunderstorms on the fringes of Tropical Storm Fay soaked Carrboro and Chapel Hill early Wednesday, flooding several roadways and forcing detours.
More than two inches of rain fell between 8 and 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to readings taken by the National Weather Service at Horace Williams Airport.

On South Columbia Street near UNC’s Fraternity Court, the edges of the street were flooded so badly that pedestrians were forced to walk through water above their knees. One woman lost a flip flop in the water, and chased it as it floated away.

At the bottom of South Greensboro Street near Hwy. 54, water ran across the street from the Triem Building to the highway entrance. However, as soon as the rain eased later Wednesday morning the high water began to recede.

“At the tail end of the rain, the phone calls started coming in,” said George Seiz, director of Carrboro Public Works. Seiz said that at about 9 a.m. Wednesday Public Works staff began responding to various calls regarding high water in different areas of the town.

Richard Terrell, operations manager for Chapel Hill Public Works, said there were several streets in Chapel Hill that had to be closed because of high water. The rain forced the closure of South Estes Drive for several hours. However, most streets were reopened within a short period of time.

“In some cases, by the time our crews had actually gotten there, the problems had resolved themselves,” Terrell said.

He added that the high water is often caused by water backing up at drainage basins on the side of roads, which catch debris and become partially blocked.

According to the National Weather Service, tornadoes were spotted in several areas around North Carolina, including Chatham County, and the storms could continue through Thursday.

1 thought on “Tropical storm Fay drenches town, causes flooding”

  1. alicia says:
    August 28, 2008 at 3:47 pm

    Everybody in Houma,LA should evacuate just incase the hurricane comes our way!!!

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