Matthew submerges newspaper office
LUMBERTON — One of the many victims of Hurricane Matthew was The Robesonian newspaper, whose office at 2175 Roberts Ave. in Lumberton was flooded, delaying delivery of the newspaper’s Oct. 9 edition, which will be delivered this week.
The entire building, including its pressroom, was under about 3 feet of water, which destroyed electronics, furniture and other office equipment, making it uninhabitable. The water also destroyed one of the company’s vehicles and a car belonging to a reporter.
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Garland man killed during hurricane
CLINTON — High water, washed out roads and downed trees left behind from Hurricane Matthew caused many roads in Sampson County to close.
According to Susan Holder, assistant county manager, nearly 200 roads or portions of roads were closed and impassable, including several major thoroughfares.
Those dangerous road conditions during Hurricane Matthew took the life of Garland resident on Saturday.
Solomon Hickmond, a 30-year-old male, died in a single-vehicle accident on Old Mintz Road on Saturday afternoon. According to reports from the North Carolina Highway Patrol, Hickmond was driving a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox and lost control before hitting a tree, near N.C. 411.
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Power restoration may be days away
WHITEVILLE — Columbus County got its share of Matthew’s wrath on Saturday.
As of late Sunday, Fair Bluff is experiencing severe flooding from the Lumber River and downtown businesses are under 3 to 4 feet of water. About 100 to 150 people had been evacuated at 6 p.m.
The substation in Soules Swamp is flooded and the city won’t have power until it is cleared of water; in fact, power for many Duke Energy customers may not be restored until late Monday or Tuesday due to issues with a main transmission line.
More than half of Brunswick Ekectric’s customers here have been restored.
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NCDOT closes parts of Interstate 95
EASTOVER — Travel remained treacherous in the Cape Fear region Sunday as high water and downed trees closed numerous roads.
About 80 roads were closed Sunday in the region because of Hurricane Matthew, which caused widespread flooding after it dumped 14 inches of rain in some areas.
The northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 95 between Dunn and Fayetteville were closed because of a dam breach at Rhodes Pond, according to Harnett County officials.
Interstate 95 was closed in both directions between exits 40 and 55 near Fayetteville and between exits 17 and 22 near Lumberton, according to the DOT.
From staff and wire reports.