N.C. Governor To Tour Charlotte-Area Flood Damage

Gov. Mike Easley is expected to tour flood damage today, after Cabarrus County declared a state of emergency Wednesday.

The governor has scheduled to arrive at 3 p.m. and hold a news conference at Concord Regional Airport. Emergency management teams will be in the area on Friday.

The state of emergency means property owners with severe flood damage may get federal funding to help with repairs in Cabarrus County.

Rescue teams pulled two people out of a flooded car late Wednesday night in Mt. Pleasant, east of Concord.

Emergency officials said the two people got stuck trying to drive through Mt. Pleasant Road, even though it was flooded. A water rescue team pulled them out around 10 p.m. No one was hurt.

Home Video Shows Six Feet Of Flooding At Charlotte Apartments

Hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes in east Charlotte. Ron Cureton showed Eyewitness News home video from the Cavalier Apartments. It shows just how high the water got, completely submerging cars in the parking lot.

Ron and his neighbors watched as firefighters came to the rescue. The used boats to get people to dry land.

A total of 264 units were evacuated from the nearby Doral apartments. About 100 apartments were seriously damaged.

The Red Cross set up a shelter at East Mecklenburg High School for residents. It's scheduled to remain open through the day Thursday.

Rainiest Charlotte Days In History Lead To Widespread Flooding

The most rain ever to fall on Charlotte caused creeks and rivers to rise, submerging more than 30 streets and dozens of yards across the Queen City.

Severe Weather Team 9 meteorologist John Ahrens said according to the state climate office in Raleigh, the two-day 8.5-inch rain total is the most rain ever recorded on consecutive days in Charlotte history. The region got more than 5 inches of rain Tuesday -- setting a record for the month of August -- and another 3 inches fell in Charlotte on Wednesday morning.

Despite the widespread flooding, no injuries or deaths have been reported.

Overnight, Briar Creek overflowed, submerging yards and roads across the southern part of the city. Residents of the Myers Park and Eastover communities near the creek were asked to leave their homes if possible because the water continued to rise.

Swiftwater rescue crews had to help dozens of residents from homes along Sharon Road early Wednesday.

"We were sitting on the front porch and (swiftwater rescuers) literally picked us up in a red boat," said neighbor Erin Phillips.

Neighbors on Museum Drive behind the Mint Museum, where the water is waist-deep, said this is the worst flooding they’ve seen in decades.

"More rain is not a good thing," said Tony Little, whose basement on Sharon Road suffered an estimated $15,000 in damage.

Very early Wednesday, the Doral and Cavalier apartments on Monroe Road were evacuated as water nearly submerged the entire first floor of the buildings. Cars disappeared as the parking lots became a small lake.

“The water just kept on coming and coming. I’ve never seen this much water, ever,” said resident Shemika Brown.

Shante Rivers said it only took a few minutes after she realized what was happening to grab her children and get out of their apartment as the water rose.

“You can’t imagine seeing water just come into your place,” she said, before shedding a tear. “We’ll be all right.”

Rescue crews went door to door in rafts Wednesday morning looking for anyone still inside the apartments, a process that took several hours.

Those residents, about 100 in all, are being sheltered in the gymnasium at East Mecklenburg High School. The school will remain open overnight to house the displaced residents and Mecklenburg County planned to reassess the situation this morning.

Residents of Jamestown Commons complex near the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Morningside Drive were also evacuated in a Charlotte Area Transit System bus early Wednesday. Central Avenue at Morningside Drive in east Charlotte was completely under water due to Briar Creek’s overflowing, flooding businesses as well as homes.

"We had a loud knock on the door -- had no idea what was going on, just saw the water, got our stuff together. Fire department asked us to leave," said Jamestown Commons resident George Hassell.

Hassell said he had just moved to Charlotte from Miami to avoid hurricanes and didn’t expect to be drying out his recently purchased townhouse.

Neighbor Leigh Wiley said she was shocked to see water come pouring into her home. She said the floor was covered in about 3 inches of water in just 30 seconds.

Many east Charlotte residents were allowed back to their homes several hours later as the water receded there. They said they have a lot of cleaning up to do because their cars were submerged for hours and about 2 feet of water seeped into their homes.

Homeowners admitted they knew they were in a floodplain, but they weren’t prepared for the torrential rains.

David Brenner said his neighbor woke him as the waters were rising before dawn. He said he shut off his power and scrambled to move expensive entertainment equipment upstairs.

He said the cleanup process will likely take a long time.

"I don't know where to begin. It's like, where do you start? Clean up? Insurance? So I guess you learn everything first-hand when it happens," Brenner said.

The townhomes were in the process of being refurbished, so most of the residents have only lived in them for six months to a year. Most said they do have flood insurance, which is separate from homeowner’s insurance.

To the north, also in Mecklenburg County, the flooding in Huntersville left some neighbors stranded in their homes. Water covered yards in neighborhoods near Gilead Road, where the McDowell Creek swelled and surrounded homes.

A captain with the Charlotte Fire Department said swiftwater rescue team members will be on standby Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

Surrounding Counties Also Flooded

Widespread flooding in Harrisburg in Cabarrus County led the American Red Cross to open an emergency shelter there. Residents of three neighborhoods, College Downs, Middleton and Harrisburg Estates, were evacuated to the Harrisburg United Methodist Church on N.C. Highway 49 when the Rocky River swelled well beyond its banks.

Rescue crews had to use boats to get some of those families out of their homes and to dry land.

One displaced resident, John Grenier of Waterloo Driver, made a horizontal line across his chest and said, "I waded out of my house. I waded up to my chest -- see water lines right about there? That's how high, deep it was at my house."

"I'm shocked. I cannot believe it came up as far as it did," said resident Heidi Garcia, who lives on Cambridge Drive.

Chopper 9 spotted some residents just staring at the devastation, while others, like several neighbors in the Bostwood Estates community, waded through the high water to try to save their belongings.

Harrisburg Mayor Tim Hagler said the town went to great lengths to make sure residents had the opportunity to get out of the floodwaters safely.

"I think we've gotten all the hot spots. We've gotten all the residents, knocked on all the doors," he said.

Harrisburg Fire Chief Bryan Dunn said, "We go from one place to another and, generally, in Harrisburg, we pre-plan and we know from history what areas tend to flood."

Several Cabarrus County residents said their houses are a total loss. Some used planks to get into their homes to begin pulling out whatever they could, as quickly as they could.

Selden Pedigo, who lives on Clara Circle, said he never expected or even imagined the Rocky River could explode to such heights so suddenly. Levels rose 6 inches to a foot every hour Wednesday morning.

“(Wednesday morning) we thought the worse was already pretty much over with, but the water kept coming," he said.

Friends, relatives and neighbors gathered to help residents as the water rose. They rallied around each other and worked at a frantic pace. Home furniture and other valuables were moved and stacked onto front lawns, then packed into cars, trucks and moving vans.

Even with all the work and a lot of things saved, Pedigo said he isn't optimistic.

“It's a mess. (The house is) probably a total loss,” he said.

While some neighbors said they don’t know where they’ll stay Wednesday night, Pedigo said he plans to stay in his truck not far from his home.

There is a second Cabarrus County shelter open in Kannapolis at the Cannon Memorial YMCA in Kannapolis. Nearly 75 people were evacuated from mobile homes and a nursing home in Kannapolis early Wednesday.

There are about 10 roads that are flooded in Rowan County, too. Streets in Salisbury near Interstate 85 are under water.

Watauga County is also experiencing flooding along the Catawba River near the Boone airport. Burke County is flooded in places, too.

Drivers are advised to avoid the flooded areas. Do not drive across any road covered in water. Rescuers said it only take a few inches of water to sweep away a vehicle, and Wednesday’s flooding led to dozens of swiftwater rescues for drivers who did not heed their warnings.

Jake Burkey said he has to use his four-wheel drive to pull stranded motorists out of the water on Roberta Road in Concord.

"You get swept away really quickly, especially with the rising waters. You know, I've seen this time and time again. We helped out with Katrina and some other things, and it's just ridiculous -- people don't understand this water will swipe you away real quick," he said.

Also in Concord, water from an overflowing drainage ditch knocked the foundation of a home on Dayvault Street back several feet. The elderly couple who lived there was given an hour to collect their belongings after the home was deemed unsafe.

"This is pretty devastating right now. My elderly grandparents have never had to move away from this house. Now they've got an hour to get out,” said Melvin Miller, the couple’s grandson. Miller said family members will provide a temporary place for the couple to stay. He said the house should be repaired in about a month.

School Canceled, Delayed In Some Areas Due To Flooding

Just a few days into the start of the new school year, several school districts decided to close or delay school Wednesday morning because of flooding.

Cabarrus County Schools were closed. Harrisburg Presbyterian and First Assembly Christian in Cabarrus County were also closed.

North Kannapolis Christian Academy was closed. Kannapolis city schools had a two-hour delay.

All Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools opened and operated on time. A CMS spokeswoman said bus drivers were told early Wednesday of closed roads, and the drivers were prepared to take alternate routes if roads were still flooded Wednesday afternoon.

Some CMS schools have leaks, but none were serious enough to affect classes, the CMS spokeswoman said.

Watch the attached video stories for more information on Wednesday’s flooding.