Two rescue vehicles were wrecked and third was damaged as heavy rains brought flash flooding to much of Columbus today (Sunday).
Radio traffic indicated that a Whiteville Rescue vehicle overturned on N.C. 130 en route to a call. When a Lake Waccamaw Rescue QRV responded, that vehicle also wrecked. A Whiteville Rescue heavy rescue truck was also flooded and trapped at the Go Gas on Madison Street.
Multiple Whiteville intersections between Jefferson Street and Soules Swamp were flooded at 6:30 p.m.
Whiteville Emergency Services Director Hal Lowder strongly urged people to stay off the roads.
“Do not drive through flood water,” he said. “We say it during every single storm. It doesn’t take much for a regular automobile to start floating. Then your life is in danger, and emergency personnel are endangered as well. It’s not worth it.”
Some streets are being blocked due to rising water, Lowder said.
“Do not go around barricades,” he said. “They are there for a reason. It’s especially dangerous at night. You have no idea if a street has washed out, or what is under the water.”
Barricades were erected on Madison Street downtown, but no serious flooding was reported. While multiple intersections on Franklin Street saw high water, most of the flooding flowed off by 7 p.m.
Some streets in Chadbourn were covered, and parts of U.S. 701 South were down to one lane.
This is a developing story.
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