Officials in central North Carolina rescued dozens of stranded people on Sunday night and early Monday morning after Tropical Depression Chantal dumped up to 10 inches of rain in parts of the state, bringing significant flooding that inundated homes, closed highways, trapped drivers and pushed rivers up to near historic levels.
The storm, which made landfall as a tropical storm early Sunday in South Carolina and then moved inland, had weakened to a post-tropical cyclone by Monday afternoon and was moving northeast over Chesapeake Bay toward eastern Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey, where there were flood watches posted.
The worst effects of the storm have so far been felt in central North Carolina, where tens of thousands of people lost electric power and at least two tornadoes were confirmed, the authorities said. The storm downed trees and power lines and swamped hundreds of roads.
As of Monday afternoon, the authorities had reported one death caused by the storm. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said that Sandra Portnoy Hirschman, 83, of Pittsboro, N.C., died after she drove her vehicle into floodwater on Sunday night in Chatham County.
In Orange County, N.C., which includes Chapel Hill, officials said in a statement Sunday night that several water rescues and evacuations were underway in low-lying areas. In Moore County to the south, floods washed out roads and broke at least two dams. Both counties declared states of emergency.
At Camelot Village in Chapel Hill, an apartment complex with a history of flooding, emergency crews rescued several residents from floodwaters.
Brandon Lee, 40, who lives at Camelot Village, said he was startled on Sunday night by what sounded like a “raging river running right through our buildings.” When he looked down from his second-floor apartment, he saw water sloshing in the streets, sweeping away vehicles and trash bins. A woman who lives on the floor below called out for help.
Mr. Lee said he saw rescue boat crews retrieve several people from inundated apartments, including his downstairs neighbor.
The water level in the Eno River rose to a record 25.63 feet. The Haw River outside Burlington, N.C., about 60 miles northwest of Raleigh swelled to 32.5 feet overnight, a few inches short of a record set during Hurricane Fran in 1996. The National Weather Service warned of “major flooding,” and a section of Interstate 40 east of Burlington was closed Monday morning because of floodwaters.
Firefighters in Chapel Hill completed more than 50 water rescues Sunday evening and overnight, the city said in a statement, adding that more than 60 people had been displaced from their homes.
At the Eastgate Crossing shopping center in Chapel Hill, stores were battered by floodwaters full of debris that broke windows and machinery as the water rushed into buildings.
Scott Novak, majority owner of The Loop Restaurant in Eastgate Crossing, said the business was closing at 9 p.m. Sunday when he noticed that the parking lot “looked like a lake.”
Mr. Novak and his employees fled to a higher elevation before the floodwaters flipped over a service counter, a soda machine and a beverage cooler.
“We’re all stressed, we’re all upset,” Mr. Novak said. “But what are you going to do?”
Mayor Leonardo Williams of Durham said the city’s fire department rescued 80 people by boat. On Monday morning, the mayor visited the Old Farm neighborhood in northern Durham, where houses were flooded and residents waded through knee-high water Monday in hot, humid weather following the storm.
Sheriff Mike Roberson of Chatham County said in a statement that rescue crews had been overwhelmed on Sunday night, and were continuing to search for missing people on Monday morning. His office had not posted an update on the missing people as of Monday afternoon, and did not immediately return requests for comment.
About 60 miles south of Chapel Hill, in Southern Pines, N.C., a private dam broke, contributing to the flooding, said Mike Cameron, the assistant town manager and fire chief. He said emergency responders had rescued three people trapped in vehicles.
Though the storm has weakened since it came ashore, forecasters said that it could still dump large amounts of rain along its path as it heads up the I-95 corridor, leading to flash flooding.
“While things will improve across North Carolina, they may worsen for areas further to the northeast,” said Frank Pereira, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “We’re advising people not to go out and travel unless absolutely necessary.”
Dan Leins, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Raleigh, said that as Chantal moved inland, the storm slowed down significantly, extending the duration of heavy rainfall in areas it crossed.
“It was a very small storm, which is also why the heavy rainfall and flooding that we saw was really confined to a relatively small area, and not the entire state,” Mr. Leins said.
The storm has not significantly affected the Asheville area of western North Carolina, where the remnants of a hurricane last year caused torrential downpours and mudslides that killed more than 100 people.
The official Atlantic hurricane season started on June 1 and runs through Nov. 30. There have been two named tropical storms so far: Andrea, which formed on June 24 and dissipated a day later, and Barry, which made landfall near Tampico on Mexico’s Gulf Coast Sunday night.
Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted in May that this year’s hurricane season would be more active than average, with 13 to 19 named storms. Typically, the most destructive storms come later in the summer.
Experts think it is probable that a major hurricane will make landfall in the United States this season. Climate experts have warned that intense storms like these have become more likely to occur and to intensify rapidly because the world is getting warmer.
Climate change is also affecting the amount of rain that storms can produce. Warmer air is able to hold more moisture, which means that named storms can carry more rainfall. And researchers have found that over the past few decades, storms have tended to move more slowly, lingering and pounding affected areas with heavy rain for more extended periods.
“Climate change is real, it is undeniable and it is important that we take it serious,” Mayor Williams said.
Livia Albeck-Ripka is a Times reporter based in Los Angeles, covering breaking news, California and other subjects.
Eduardo Medina is a Times reporter covering the South. An Alabama native, he is now based in Durham, N.C.
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