The talk of the new school year has been all about Hurricane Florence, otherwise known as “1000 years of flooding”.

Florence lumbered ashore in North Carolina with 90 mph winds and an enormous storm surge , ripping apart buildings and knocking out power to a half-million homes and businesses as it settled in for what could be a long and destructive drenching.

Florence wrecked $74.5 million in residential damages and another $25.6 million in commercial damage. Several deaths related to in house flooding, car accidents, and more.

 “As tropical systems get farther north, they tend to get more involved with the jet streams — or what we call westerlies — and that will help accelerate the storm to the east and northeast” from the Carolinas, said Jay Engle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New York.

So who had the most damage? New Bern, North Carolina was horrified by their conditions. Hundreds were rescued from New Bern and Craven County shortly after the storm hit, 33 families torn apart. Many more would be rescued in the following days.

N&O reported “Early estimates from the city showed “at least 4,325 homes and 300 businesses are damaged and railroad tracks have been washed away.”

Florence wrecked $74.5 million in residential damages and another $25.6 million in commercial damage. Due to the lost lives, the governor’s office activated a disaster relief fund for donations to North Carolina. Visit rebuildnc.gov or text FLORENCE to 20222 to aid in the North Carolina disaster relief fund.