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Storms cause damage at Carolina Waterfowl Rescue's new location

INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. — Sunday night's storms caused major damage at the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, after they'd just moved to their new location.

Birds were roaming around the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue in Indian Trail on Monday after their cages were destroyed from the strong storms.

“I was putting some stuff in the shed, and I saw the roof lift off of the shed and the wind was blowing so hard,” Director Jennifer Gordon said.

Gordon was there Sunday night when the chaos hit.

“The birds were just all over the place,” she said. “The cages had turned over. The roofs had blown off of the pens back here.”

One rare bird, a female peacock, took off after her cage was damaged.

On Monday, workers were left cleaning up grounds that they just finished moving into the day before. They moved to the Poplin Road location because their former space had no ponds for the birds.

Also helping with repairs are members of the community who showed up to volunteer, like 15-year-old John Steuber.

“It's going to be big work, putting it all back together,” he said.

Steuber said we can't ignore animals affected by storms, too.

“I feel good about it,” he said. “(I) feel like I'm helping the community, helping the wildlife so that's always good.”

Steuber's attitude makes staff there faithful that they will be able to rebuild.

“It gives you some faith in humanity when people come out and lend a hand and try to help,” Gordon said.

If you'd like to help with cleanup, you can email staff at the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue at help@duckrescue.org.