Sept. 17 -- RALEIGH, NC -- In a final lashing Monday, the sprawling storm Florence triggered tornadoes, flooded communities and left hundreds of roads submerged as it crawled northward out of North Carolina.
There were 25 known deaths from the storm, 19 of them in North Carolina.
One of them was in Union County, where emergency workers Monday found the body of Kaiden Lee-Welch, a year-old boy swept away in rushing water Sunday after his mother’s car became trapped in flooding. She was able to free him from a car seat but lost her grip on him in the torrent.
Across hundreds of miles, major highways, streets and back roads were under water, making interstate travel a daunting challenge and impossible in the Lumberton, Wilmington and Jacksonville areas. Wilmington remained an island cut off by flooded streets that prevented most land access.
To the south, Duke Energy’s Brunswick nuclear plant workers had limited access to relieve those who have been on the site for days, which prompted a required state of emergency declaration. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the twin-reactor plant posed no threat to public safety.
Charlotte-based Duke shut down the two reactors ahead of the storm when Florence was a Category 4 hurricane. Federal law requires nuclear operators to shut down reactors when sustained wind speeds are at 74 mph or higher.
Across North Carolina, 49 of the state’s 115 school districts were closed Monday with 23 opening after a delay, according to the state Department of Public Instruction. Of the 185 charter schools, 71 were closed Monday and six were had delayed openings.
At least 1.2 million of North Carolina’s 1.5 million public school students have missed some school because of the storm, according to the department.
But there were some signs Monday of the region returning to normal. The Wake County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro school systems announced that classes would resume Tuesday. The Durham and Orange County school systems reopened Monday.
Elsewhere Monday, though, nerves remained on edge, as the day began with the National Weather Service issuing tornado warnings throughout the central part of the state, including in Durham County and eastern Orange County, at 7:30 a.m.
A confirmed tornado was reported over Elm City, about 8 miles southwest of Rocky Mount, about 7 a.m. The weather service said Wilson County emergency officials reported trees and power lines down and some damaged buildings in the Elm City area.
In Orange County, about seven people in Camelot Village near Bolin Creek voluntarily left their homes about 12:30 a.m. Monday after firefighters visited the community and warned of the rising creek water, said Ran Northam, a Chapel Hill police spokesman. While some at Camelot Village left late last week, Northam said, it appeared they returned when they thought the threat had passed.
The Eno River overflowed its banks in Durham, causing significant flooding. Go Durham buses were enlisted to transport evacuees to the county health and human services building.
Shortly after noon, the Durham Fire Department, Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department, and Durham County Emergency Management began evacuating homes in the Old Farm neighborhood in North Durham.
Chatham County reported that numerous roads were impassable because of flooding Monday morning.
Late Sunday and early Monday, Randolph County emergency officials said crews had rescued people from three vehicles trapped by floodwater, and several people were helped out of flooded homes.
The Deep River at Ramseur in Randolph County was continuing to rise at midday, when it reached what is categorized as a major flood stage, according to the National Weather Service.
Wake County reported its six shelters had closed Monday. At their peak, they had sheltered more than 1,200 people.
Robeson County, which has had substantial flooding, reported five shelters remaining open Monday. The county has accommodated nearly 1,600 people in the shelters.
A number of residential neighborhoods were evacuated Monday morning of those unable to get out on their own. The county urged people to stay home if they could, or find shelters.
The State Highway Patrol was trying to find a safe route for volunteers to reach Lumberton, according to the N.C. Baptist Men and Women on Mission, a relief group based in Cary. Interstate 95 remained under water in several places where it passes through Lumberton, and was closed.
Although the Lumber River remained high and a temporary fill where a railroad bridge cuts through the town’s levee had been leaking since it was hurriedly built over the past several days, the levee held through Sunday night, keeping a bad situation from becoming worse. Its level had dropped 3 feet, according to the county.
The Cape Fear River in Fayetteville was forecast to crest near 62 feet Tuesday. A Hoke County dam just upriver from Cumberland County was overflowing Monday morning.
Cumberland County Animal Control removed 225 dogs and cats from its shelter near Hope Mills.
A five-member team from the N.C. National Guard rescued nearly 240 people from New Bern floodwaters over the weekend. In all, the guard has participated in more than 600 rescues throughout the state, and has used 60 planes from the Civil Air Patrol.
Statewide, nearly 3,000 members of the state’s National Guard are helping in some of the areas that were hit hardest by the storm.
Gov. Roy Cooper met with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at Raleigh-Durham International Airport to update her on the response and recovery efforts.
The N.C. Division of Employment Security announced that disaster assistance will be available for those who qualify in eight counties: Beaufort, Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico and Pender. People who became unemployed as a direct result of the hurricane can be eligible for unemployment benefits; business owners can also qualify. Unemployed workers have until Oct. 17 to apply.
Richard Stradling, Martha Quillin, John Murawski, Abbie Bennett, Ron Gallagher, Tammy Grubb, Virginia Bridges and Anna Johnson contributed to this report.
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