Damage being assessed after heavy rain floods 100 Mecklenburg County homes

About 100 Mecklenburg County homes had water in their living spaces after a deluge that dumped nearly 9 inches of rain on uptown Charlotte over two days, city and county officials said Friday.

Many of the flooded homes were in the Myers Park and Briar Creek areas, with some along Little Sugar Creek, said spokesman John Wendel of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services. Officials were surveying the damage Friday, he said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management is also conducting preliminary damage assessments across the county but has not yet compiled the results, the agency said.

At least six people died in the Charlotte region after intense flooding wreaked havoc across the area as rising waters closed roads and parts of Interstate 85, damaged property and prompted water rescues. A seventh victim, a child who drowned in a swollen creek, died near Raleigh.

A man’s body was recovered Friday morning at a flood-ravaged campground in Alexander County where three other people died, and a 1-year-old remains missing.

In Mecklenburg County, emergency management officials urged residents to voluntarily evacuate streets bordering the Catawba River in northwest Charlotte. The order went into effect at 6:45 a.m. and included Riverside Drive, Lake Drive, Beagle Club Road, and Hart Road.

Officials lifted the order just before noon Friday. “While the floodwaters are receding, they still present a dangerous condition and residents in the area are urged to exercise extreme caution as the water continues to recede,” Emergency Management said.

Water levels on Mountain Island Lake, just upstream of that area, reached 3 feet above full pond at about 10 a.m. Friday before beginning to recede, emergency officials on the scene said. About 60 to 75 residences were included in the voluntary evacuation order.

Officials haven’t needed the rescue boat staged near the bank of the river, said Jason Cook, chief of the Cook’s Community Volunteer Fire Department. Cook said emergency officials will monitor water levels as they recede.

“A lot of people stayed,” he said of the voluntary order. “This is an area where this happens frequently, at least once a year, especially lately. A lot of people know and they’re comfortable with their situation.”

Nearly 40 riverside families, including many who live on Riverside Drive, sued Duke Energy in April after dozens of homes flooded after a three-day downpour in June 2019. Duke impounds 11 lakes on the Catawba River and manages the flow of water under a federal license.

The lawsuit, which is still pending, accused Duke of mishandling the flood and failing to adequately warn residents about it before a surge of water up to 8 feet high flooded more than 100 homes, leaving millions of dollars in damage.

Duke, in response to the lawsuit, defended its actions and noted that its regulator, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, had found the utility in compliance with its license. FERC, however, ordered Duke to re-evaluate what happened and how to prevent future flooding, including a review of “the timeliness and effectiveness” of public notices and warnings.

“As with any major rainfall event, we began moving water to lower lakes levels based on the forecast and are continuing to move water through the river system to return lakes to target levels,” Duke spokeswoman Kim Crawford said Friday of this week’s rainfall.

Duke encourages lake neighbors and residents in low-lying, flood-prone areas to get real-time lake level information on its website, by phone (800-829-5253) or by downloading the Duke Energy Lake View mobile app. Residents should also heed directions from local emergency managers, it said.

Most closed roads have reopened

Overflowing drainages closed 63 roads in Mecklenburg on Thursday. By Friday morning, Jeff Adams Drive and Mallard Creek Road near Johnston Oehler Road were both still closed, the N.C. Department of Transportation said Friday morning.

Jeff Adams Drive has some high water that has not yet receded and Mallard Creek Road is being assessed after some of the shoulder degraded near the edge of the pavement.

There are also nine road closures in Cabarrus County and three in Union County, DOT reported. Road closures and delays statewide are updated at www.drivenc.gov.

Charlotte firefighters rescued 23 people from homes and 12 from stranded cars on Thursday. Heavy flooding also forced the evacuation of 143 people at a charter school in the University area, the Charlotte Fire Department said.

Thirty-six Charlotte firefighters deployed to the Alexander County campground to help with swift-water searches and rescues, the department tweeted Thursday night.

Several sewage overflows were reported in the Charlotte area as rainwater poured into lines and treatment plants. Union County reported six spills totaling 91,000 gallons, while Hickory had one overflow of 70,000 gallons. Charlotte Water reported a spill of 3,600 gallons near Montford Drive on Thursday.

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 1:50 PM.