Ten years after Hurricane Matthew delivered the first of two crippling floods to Fair Bluff, the town is hosting a documentary premiere about what happened and what is to come.
The Fight for Fair Bluff was a cooperative effort of southeastern Community college ands the town. A free public screening of the documentary will be held Friday at 6 p.m. at Fair Bluff First Baptist Church, which was flooded with six feet of water during Matthew, then again during Florence.
Hurricane Matthew was a Category Five when it crossed the Atlantic, but wind shear and other conditions weakened the storm significantly when it made landfall near McLellanville, S.C. On Oct. 8, 2016. The storm moved back offshore, but continued dumping rain and heavy wind across the area. Twelve to 18 inches fell in Columbus, and more was upstream on the Lumber River, which flows through the center of town.
When the river rose but seemed to crest, many residents and business owners figured to reopen their doors a day or two after the storm passed.
“We went to be thinking everything was going to be all right,” said Rep. Brenden Jones, “and people woke up to six feet of water in their homes.”
Matthew sent six to eight feet of water into the downtown area, flooding every building and causing major damage. The town was still reeling from the loss of virtually the entire business district and numerous homes to Matthew when Hurricane Florence sent another, deeper round of flooding to the area in September 2018. Florence made initial landfall in Carteret County, then meandered south along the coast for three days, bringing record breaking rainfall across the region. As much as 24 inches of rain fell in some areas.
Town Administrator Al Leonard said Fair Bluff was facing the possibility of writing off the entire town, but an effort led by the Mayor and town board, along with Jones and State Sen. Bill Rabon — a Fair Bluff native — led instead to a transformation.
Despite the loss of most of the town’s infrastructure, dozens of damaged or destroyed buildings and many residents forced to leave their homes, community leaders set out to save the town.
Jones and Rabon said they began making telephone calls before the floodwaters of Florence finished rising. As the water fell and damage became more evident, the level was staggering.
“Legislators looked at me and said, ‘You’re asking for $35 million for a town of 900 people?’” Jones said, “and I said, ‘yes.’”
Fair Bluff’s Riverwalk has since been renovated, and the town is shifting its focus toward attracting new residents as well as eco-tourism. Long range plans call for more improvements.
Most of the bowl-shaped area between the Lumber River and the railroad has been cleared of buildings, and a new business center on higher ground is home to multiple retailers. The town’s grocery store is expected to reopen after seven years when renovations are completed this fall. A monthly farmers market on the riverfront is growing.
“We created ‘Uptown Fair Bluff,’” Leonard said.
Leonard, Jones and Rabon said the documentary was created not just to celebrate the town’s ongoing recovery, but to help other towns.
“We want to show other places that you can come back from a disaster, from two disasters,” Leonard said. “Fair Bluff survived, and is coming back.”
“It doesn’t have to be a flood,” said Jones, whose experiences in Matthew and Florence prepared him to lead efforts to assist western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. “It can be any kind of disaster. “
“Anyone who grew up here knows Fair Bluff is a special, magical place,” Rabon said. “Too many towns like this are gone. It’s worth saving.”
