Multiple road closures cut off town of Southport; residents asked to ...

Published September 16, 2024 at 3:09 PM EDT

The town of Southport has declared a state of emergency following intense rainfall and flooding from potential tropical cyclone #8. The town has closed all inbound roads to non-emergency traffic until further notice.

Mayor Rich Alt is asking all residents to shelter in place until floodwaters disperse.

"What we're telling them now is just to shelter in place, because there's no place for them to go to," he said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Steven Pfaff told WHQR that since midnight, approximately 13 inches of rain have fallen in Southport. But Pfaff says the rain will likely slow down tonight.

"I think for the heaviest hit spots — Brunswick, New Hanover — maybe another one to two [inches] with that, which we hope is the last band that comes through here," he said. "But we're not out of the woods yet. And you know, any any additional heavy rainfall can easily compound the flash flood situation that that's going on."

As of 3 p.m., 12 roads are shut down due to flooding, including NC Highway 87/133 and NC Highway 211.

211 is blocked in multiple places throughout Southport. A large sinkhole has cut off traffic on both sides of East Moore Street over Price Creek. According to Mayor Alt, the bridge near Walmart over the Duke Power cooling canal – which was in use while a new bridge was under construction – has collapsed. Another road collapse near Generations Church on Southport-Supply SE Road has cut off traffic in both directions.

NC Highway 87/133 is currently flooded in multiple places, but no collapses have been reported.

The county has opened a shelter at South Brunswick School, "but we can't get from here to there," Alt said.

As such, Mayor Alt is asking all residents to continue sheltering in place. Those who are unable to shelter in place should go to the Southport Fire Department. As of 3 p.m., eight families are sheltering at the Southport Fire Department.

Due to a washout on one of the access roads to the Duke Energy Plant, employees will have to shelter in place at the facility until the road is repaired.

Karen Williams, the lead communications officer for duke energy, said the plant is supplied with enough emergency equipment, such as food and cots to get them through the night.

“We always have everything that we would ever possibly need on site. So there are cots, and, you know, stuff for folks to be able to spend the night,” Williams. “There's food on site, there's everything that they could possibly need to be able to stay on site. We plan for that. So there's extensive emergency planning for the power plant, and so that we're always prepared for any kind of situation that might present itself.”

Williams said emergency services will need to address problems throughout the county, so it is not guaranteed that the road will be repaired overnight, but it will be addressed as quickly as possible.

Williams also said the weather has had no impact on the operation of the power plant.

Southport Communications Director ChyAnn Ketchum stated that Southport Emergency Operations Center is monitoring calls. You can reach them at (910) 457-7915.

This is a developing story, and will be updated as information becomes available. A previous version of this article featured a quote from Mayor Rich Alt stating that high tide was at noon. According to the National Weather Service, high tide will actually take place at 7 p.m. tonight.