Florence’s aftermath continues to devastate most of southeastern North Carolina, turning it into an inland sea as rivers reach record flood stage.
Wake Forest escaped with only intermittent rain and strong but not prolonged winds over a long weekend, Thursday night through early Monday. On Friday two trees were toppled, one in Deacons Ridge and one in Remington Woods, and there were three isolated power outages. Friday night South Main Street was closed between Ligon Mill Road and Capital Boulevard because of flooding caused by a traffic barrel caught in a storm drain.
Town hall was open Friday and Monday; the Flaherty Park Community Center and the Alston-Massenburg Center were open those days and on Saturday; and all town parks and greenways, closed over the weekend, were reopened Monday after inspections showed they were safe.
Public Works Director Magda Holloway said in an email, “We were not hit as hard as expected. Winds and heavy rain kept us from addressing things as quickly as we had liked.” She added, “We were very fortunate.”
Wake Forest Power crews have gone to distressed public power towns after other disasters, but Holloway said there have been no requests yet. “We have crews available to help out of town, but have not received any requests for crews needing assistance at this time. We will wait to hear from respective communities in the weeks to come to see if there are any needs. We are staying in close contact to serve if and when it might be needed.”
If you want to send assistance to those in need because of Florence, here are several ways:
*Text Florence to 20222
*Visit governor.nc.gov/donate-florence-recovery
*Visit the American Red Cross at httpss://www.redcross.org/
*Visit North Carolina Community Foundation or A Just Florence Recovery
*Or turn to an organization you know and trust to donate money
