HAW RIVER, N.C. (WGHP) — The residents of one Haw River neighborhood can return home as the dust settles following Tropical Storm Debby.
On Thursday afternoon, officials ordered residents in homes on Lang Street to leave their homes as water levels rose along the Haw River. At noon on Friday, the Town of Hae River ended the State of Emergency and lifted the voluntary evacuation.
“With the levels of the Haw River continuing to decline and the low likelihood of additional rainfall in the foreseeable timeframe, the decision to terminate the State of Emergency has been declared by Town Officials,” the town said in a news release.
The river crested at 22.3 feet at about 4 a.m. Friday morning, according to the Flood Inundation Mapping & Alert Network. This peak was about 10 feet short of the Haw River’s all-time highest crest of 32.8 feet, which the river hit on Sept. 5, 1996, during Hurricane Fran.
“This is nothing compared to what I’ve seen,” said resident Charles Lewis.
During the evacuation, crews from the police and fire departments, as well as volunteers, went door to door to ask residents to evacuate their homes near the Haw River around Lang Street voluntarily.
For the people who near the river, they are used to the threat of flooding. So, many decided not to leave their home.
Haw River police said less than 10 people told emergency personnel they would evacuate the area on Thursday, when they asked them to do so voluntarily.
“I grew up here and I’ve seen it worse than this, where it got over the bridge and my cousin has seen it worse, where it’s got up to her mom’s house,“ said Jacob Mote, resident.
Lewis said, “I mean, I’ve actually seen where the water myself have seen where the water has been up to this bank, a gazebo completely covered with water.”
Darlene Oakley, another resident, said, “What they don’t realize though — and that’s what the mayor was trying to tell them last night — is because the fire department is over there, if they close that road, the fire trucks would have to get in that, but if that other sideroad floods, then they couldn’t get to them.”
Many have nicknamed the river, the “Mighty Haw.”
While some people, say the threat of flooding is just the price you pay for living next to a river. Oakley’s daughter was no longer willing to pay that price. She recently moved out of a flood-prone house.
As for Oakley, she is grateful no one had to deal with devastating flooding this time around.
“It’s like, I was kind of actually shocked riding through now, because, like I said, it evidently had gone down a whole lot, but I can see where it had been and where they had had the bridge closed down,” said Oakley.
Alamance County Emergency Management offered to help any residents who were unable to find other accommodations get hotel rooms, but Haw River police say they are not aware of anyone needing assistance.
“Went all the way across the street and into people’s houses, and they had to be evacuated by boat,” Mayor of Haw River Kelly Allen said.
As the water levels continue to go down, Haw River police will stop by Lang Street to assess its conditions.
The town asks anyone experiencing Tropical Storm Debby issues to call 911 for Alamance County Emergency Services or (336) 578-4141 for non-emergency services.
