Fay's remnants drench N.C.

Floods hit Mecklenburg, Cabarrus counties; tornado watches posted to the east

RALEIGH -- Heavy rain from remnants of Tropical Storm Fay overwhelmed storm drains, flooded streams and prompted tornado warnings Wednesday throughout a wide swath of central North Carolina.

Officials in Charlotte said flooding there was the worst in decades, and they expected more troubles as forecasters called for more showers and thunderstorms Wednesday night. The National Weather Service reissued a flash flood watch for the Charlotte area until late Wednesday night.

Although the weather was threatening in several areas, there had been no reports of injury or deaths from the storm by the afternoon, said Julia Jarema, spokeswoman for the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.

Jarema said most of the severe problems with flooding appeared to be in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties, but neither had requested state help.

On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Mike Easley directed state damage assessment teams to flooded areas in Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties.

A tornado watch was posted for nearly 60 counties in central and Eastern North Carolina for the afternoon, and tornado warnings popped up as radar tracked images of funnel clouds that hadn't touched down.

In Charlotte, a 450-unit apartment complex in Charlotte was evacuated and a shelter set up in a high school, Jarema said. School was canceled for the day in Cabarrus County, where 14 swift-water rescues were carried out and two nursing homes evacuated. Three shelters were set up in the county.

At one point, Charlotte fire officials asked all residents along Briar Creek to evacuate their homes.

Briar Creek overflowed its banks for several miles, inundating neighboring streets and communities. The flooding forced authorities to close East Independence Boulevard, Albemarle Road and Central Avenue at times, creating massive traffic problems during the morning commute.

Concord emergency management coordinator Jim Sells said most small streams had crested in the city north of Charlotte, but two streams were still rising about 6 inches an hour and were expected to rise 3 more feet before cresting. Concord still had about a dozen flooded roads.

Officials in Cabarrus County said that anyone living along the Rocky River should continue to be cautious as waters are expected to continue to rise.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jonathan Blaes in Raleigh said the weather would gradually subside over the next few days.

"Unsettled weather with a chance of showers and thunderstorms will persist through Friday," Blaes said. "I wouldn't focus on it as being one tight little storm."

The weather service reported 5.38 inches of rain in Boone and 4.84 inches in Lenoir as of 7 a.m. Wednesday. To the east, Blaes said nearly 7 1/2 inches of rain fell in Charlotte between 8 a.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Wednesday. Asheville had more than 4 inches and Hickory had nearly 4 inches while Winston-Salem recorded more than 3 inches.

The Charlotte Observer reported that heavy rains also caused scattered flooding in Burke, Caldwell and Catawba counties and mudslides in Burke and Caldwell.

About 12 inches of rain fell in an eight-hour period in the Jonas Ridge section of northwestern Burke County, causing rivers to spill out of their banks in the Fonta Flora community. Emergency officials called for a voluntary evacuation of about 15 homes in Fonta Flora, a historically flood-prone spot where the Linville River empties into Lake James.

Farmers in the path of the rain said it would only help crops that were parched by growing drought.

"A lot of this has gone into the ground," said Henderson County agricultural extension agent Marvin Owings.