Day after flood at mobile home park, residents without power,...

The Gastonia Fire Department employed its swift water rescue team Wednesday, rescuing as many as eight people from floodwaters after being trapped in their homes at Woodland Acres Mobile Home Park.

Firefighters said Crowders Creek, next to the neighborhood, overflowed its banks and pushed the water deep into the park.

James Morrison, who’s lived in the park for seven months, first saw the water levels rise while looking out of his window. He went out to move his truck after watching water levels rise above his tires.

“It’s never happened before,” Morrison said.

Archie Whitesides Road had already been shut down to traffic after a tree fell, knocking down a power line and pole.

Battalion Chief William Warren, of the Gastonia Fire Department, called the flood among the worst he’s seen in years. Rescuers walked residents out of their home while strapped in life vests.

No one was hurt.

On Thursday, crews were moving piles of mud that had accumulated after the floodwaters receded. The water caught Margaret Martin and her granddaughter off-guard.

"I laid down. Fifteen minutes later, it was flooded because the creek had risen so high it was pushing it out here," Martin said.

The water was strong enough to move a large trash can and the steps of the homes. Martin showed Channel 9 the water ring around her car and said she's not sure it will start.

The only other damage she has spotted is the underpinning of the mobile home.

Everyone in the community has no water, gas or electricity to start the new year.

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — "If this is the worst, then we're good," Martin said. "But if this is just any inclination of what 2016 is going to be, I'm running away."

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