On Wednesday, September 19th I decided to try to make it down to Wilmington, NC only to be cut short due to heavy traffic and being rerouted on I-40 in Duplin County. After turning around something told me to take a back road and try to get around the floods on the interstate.

I ended up coming to a dead end in a small community called North East a mile from Highway 41. I had to wait for a few hours before I could get on a boat to cruise around to get photos. I talked with several people in the area and everyone was very friendly and helpful.

I heard from the locals in the area that there had not been much news coverage. I am assuming because it was hard to get to this area by car.

Upon boarding a boat with Briley Kelley and Chandler Cavanaugh (residents of this small town) I was able to get a few photos of an animal rescue group that was carrying in a few stray cats and a dog that was on its last leg. Unfortunately, there had been a few animals that didn't survive the floods.

In these photos you will see some disturbing images of this town which sits near Wallace and Chinquapin. I saw anything from cows to dead chickens floating around. So many people lost so much. In one of the pictures you will see a fire truck that got stuck trying to drive thru the floods. The most interesting images were the ones of the cows on the front porch of one of the homes that sits right off Highway 41. It’s going to be a long road ahead in terms of recovery but I am confident they will rebuild.

Smith Hardy: smith@smithhardy.com
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