Tropical depression Chantal flooding spurs North Carolina water rescues
Tropical depression Chantal moved over North Carolina late Sunday night, causing flash flooding in numerous counties and leading to dozens of water rescues, authorities said, before heading over Virginia. It's expected to keep moving northeast. Chantal had maximum sustained winds of 30 mph. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The system was downgraded to a tropical depression Sunday after making landfall in South Carolina as a tropical storm. It hit land near Litchfield Beach at about 4 a.m. ET Sunday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Lots of rain was forecast from Chantal through Monday.
The hurricane center said it "will continue to produce heavy rainfall across portions of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania today. Storm total rainfall of 2 to 4 inches, with local amounts up to 6 inches, is expected. An elevated risk for flash flooding will continue."
Flood watches were posted for parts of south-central and eastern Virginia, southern and eastern Maryland, Delaware, southern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania.
The National Weather Service office in Raleigh, North Carolina said the Haw River was cresting at 32.5 feet and just under 21 feet at different points - both barely below record levels seen during Hurricane Fran in September 1996.
Chapel Hill, N.C. officials reported more than 50 water rescues.
The NWS Raleigh office said at about 1:30 a.m. that, "Conditions continue to gradually improve over Moore County with signs of improvement soon for Orange, Durham, and Alamance counties."
Earlier, Orange County Emergency Services declared a state of emergency due to flash flooding and issued voluntary evacuation notices for many people downstream from the Lake Michael dam due to the possibility it could fail. Officials there reported "numerous water rescues and evacuations" in low-lying areas.
Chatham County, North Carolina, said on its official X account that part of NC Highway 902 near Chatham Central Rd. had collapsed.
"Over 100 roads across the county are flooded, and flooding is expected to continue through tonight and tomorrow—even after the rain ends," the county said.
Just before 8 a.m., almost 24,000 homes and businesses in North Carolina had now power, according to poweroutage.us.
Forecasters said dangerous surf and rip currents at beaches from northeastern Florida to the mid-Atlantic states are expected to last for the next few days.
The Atlantic hurricane season lasts from June 1 until Nov. 30, with peak activity typically occurring between mid-August and mid-October.
NOAA officials predicted a 60% chance of an "above-normal" Atlantic hurricane season, with between 13 to 19 named storms. Six to 10 of those are expected to strengthen into hurricanes, and three to five could become major hurricanes, forecasters said.
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