Local forecast by
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Greenville, NC 9/24/1999 -- The Tar River still has communities stranded in its flooding waters as shown here in Pactolus, just North of Greenville. This family can only reach their flooded home by boat. Photo by Dave Gatley/FEMA News Photo
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Floyd triggered the second largest evacuation in US history to date, when 2.6 million coastal residents of five states were ordered from their homes as Hurricane Floyd approached. Evacuees in Charleston had the longest average travel times, almost nine hours. Beaufort (SC) and the two Georgia sites also had average travel times exceeding six hours.
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There were 57 deaths that were directly attributable to Floyd, 56 in the United States and 1 in Grand Bahama Island. Most of deaths were due to drowning in freshwater flooding. At that time, Floyd was the deadliest hurricane in the United States since Agnes of 1972. Total damage estimates range from 3 to over 6 billion dollars.
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"The most common response when asked what they would do differently was to leave earlier next time."
- The National Hurricane Study Program's Hurricane Floyd Assessment
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Wilmington, NC 9/15/1999 -- The exodus continued in the few hours before Hurricane Floyd hit Wilmington,
with most of the traffic headed West out of harms way. Photo by Dave Gatley/FEMA News Photo
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Along with the loss of homes, Hurricane Floyd created an agricultural nightmare. Unimaginable numbers of livestock from across Eastern North Carolina drowned in the flood - an estimated 30,000 hogs, 700,000 turkeys, and 2.4 million chickens. Officials were faced with the grim task of collecting the animal bodies and incinerating them 24 hours a day in 3 counties to avoid a threat to public health. Thousands of farms were affected when the flood waters erased years of careful landscaping and planning of fields in a matter of a few short days.
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Tobacco crop losses are estimated at $98 million; livestock losses $8.5 million; total crop losses $432 million and total agricultural losses of $634 million for 44 of the 66 counties included in the North Carolina disaster declaration.
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Wallace, NC 09/28/1999 -- Nearly 750,000 turkeys were lost to flooding in Duplin Co. alone as well as 100,000 hogs. This poultry farm in Wallace lost over 23,000. The owner, Alan Reynor, lost at least $85,000 plus cleanup costs. He also lost 2,500 hogs and his corn crop. Photo by Dave Gatley/FEMA News Photo
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North Carolina
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35 deaths occured in North Carolina. Floyd's deluge caused 7000 homes to be destroyed, and left 17,000 homes uninhabitable. 56,000 homes reported at least some damage. Most roads east of I-95 were flooded. The Tar River crested over 22 feet above flood stage in Tarboro, NC. Over 1500 people had to be rescued from flooded areas. 500,000 customers suffered without electricity at some point. 10,000 people had to be housed in temporary shelters. Much of Duplin and Greene Counties were under water at some point which caused severe agricultural damage, as well as throughout Eastern NC. Wilmington reported a new 24-hour station rainfall record (128 year record) with 13.38 inches and over 19 inches for the event.
NC FEMA Press Releases & Information
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South Carolina
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Although South Carolina experienced less damage then its neighbor to the North, they still experienced a good part of Floyd's wrath. Over 1000 homes were flooded. Myrtle Beach reported a 24-hour rainfall of 14.00 inches. On Tuesday, Sept. 14 between 360,000 and 410,000 South Carolinians, obeying Gov. Jim Hodges' evacuation order, fled the coast.
SC FEMA Press Releases & Information
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Virginia
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Hurricane Floyd's eye tracked just west of Suffolk, VA on the way up the DelMarVa penninsula. Over 9 to 12 feet of water was reported in Franklin, VA (approximately 20 miles east of Suffolk. 3 deaths have been attributed to Floyd.Over 280,000 customers went without electricity at some point. 5000 homes were damaged due to the tremendous wind and rain.
VA FEMA Press Releases & Information
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Pennsylvania
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Hurricane Floyd's torrential rains left 6 dead, over 4000 homeless. Over 410,000 customers were without electricity at some point during and after the storm. At least 2,000 homes and businesses were damaged as a result of the flooding.
PA FEMA Press Releases & Information
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New Jersey
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Tropical Storm Floyd skirted the New Jersey Coast on September 16, 1999. The storm deluged the state with up to 14 inches of rain. Six deaths occured in New Jersey . Floyd caused widespread property damage across the entire state. over 650,000 customers without electricity at some point.
NJ FEMA Press Releases & Information
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New York
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Floyd left New York with 2 dead and over 80,000 customers without electricity at some point. Strong winds hit Essex County NY, with around $2M in property damage, mostly due to trees and powerlines down. There was a dambreak on a mill pond in the Lake Placid area, with some flooding along the Chubb River.
NY FEMA Press Releases & Information
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Vermont
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There has been one death attributed to Tropical Storm Floyd that occurred in Vermont. The primary impact in Vermont from Tropical Storm Floyd was from wind. Trees and power lines were blown down across the state, with widespread power outages. On Lake Champlain, waves of 8 to 10 ft were reported, and numerous boats were damaged along the lake shore in Vermont and New York. Five to eight inches of rain fell over the entire state, with even higher localized amounts, but the heavy rainfall was offset by drought conditions that dated back to the first of the year.
VT FEMA Press Releases & Information
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Others
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Parts of Maryland, New Hampshire, and Maine were also declared a federal disaster area by FEMA.
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The Bahamas reported 1 death with severe damage on Abaco, Cat, San Salvador, and Eleuthera Islands.
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