High Water Worries Gaston County Residents, Officials

Floodwaters made Dan Davenport feel like a man on an island in his mobile home on Larry Drive in Gastonia early Wednesday.

Video he took from his front porch shows his home isolated by water that rose from a nearby ditch.

“I woke up to a flood. We had like 2 1/2 feet of water going across the driveway,” he said.

Leaves clogged a drainage pike, causing rainwater to pile up.

Firefighters were called in to help clear some of the mess. The mobile home park’s landlord brought in a backhoe to clear the rest.

Gastonia utility workers spent Wednesday morning raking debris away from gutters. They said one clogged pipe could shut down a street.

The Gaston County emergency management director said he came in to work on his holiday to monitor weather-related calls and keep an eye on storm band sweeping through.

Outside, strong winds toppled several small trees.

“Things can turn critical quickly with the conditions we see,” Emergency Management Director Tommy Almond said.

He said especially precarious are the creeks and rivers as rain flows downstream from the mountains.

People in Cramerton also woke to find a swollen South Fork River, which spilled into part of Riverside Park.

Edward Browder came to see if it would flow over Riverside Drive.

“It just makes me worry about the neighborhood,” he said.

Boat designer Paul Bruchon wasn’t concerned. He paddled upstream on a bad day to test a new design.

“To experience what it is like in unfavorable conditions,” he explained.

The county’s emergency management director said that even after the sun comes out and the rain clears, ditches and low-lying areas can still be a problem. He said it is easy for someone to slip and go under in just a few feet of water.

Emergency officials said their department needed to be especially watchful because of the Veterans Day holiday. They said curious children playing outside could have been drawn to flooded areas.