NC governor tours Chapel Hill to see flood damage, meet with displaced residents
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gov. Josh Stein toured Chapel Hill flood zones, meeting residents and business owners.
- Storm Chantal caused $56 million in damages, displacing 70 people and closing shops.
- State and local officials assess damage as FEMA assistance remains under evaluation.
Residents, local officials and business owners crowded around N.C. Gov. Josh Stein on Friday as he toured flood damage in Chapel Hill from remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal.
“I know this place exceptionally well, and it hurts my heart that these business owners invested their blood, their sweat, their tears, their capital into building successful small businesses just to have it washed away in the single day,” Stein said, as he recalled eating pizza at the former Sal’s Pizza in Eastgate Crossing shopping center and Mariakakis restaurant while growing up in Chapel Hill.
More than 30 shops and restaurants remain closed at Eastgate Crossing following the devastating July 6 flooding. The shopping center was built over Bolin Creek in the 1950s when modern stormwater rules did not exist and has a history of major floods.
Soggy drywall up to 6 feet high — above the five feet of water that entered most Eastgate stores — had been removed by Friday, and fans were drying out the storefronts ahead of reconstruction.
Stein first met with Olmaz Jewelers owner Elie Abou-Rjeileh, who said he hopes to reopen in two or three months. Chad Pickens and Chuck Millsaps, with Great Outdoor Provision Co., described finding their store a total loss. Even the wood floors that survived a 2018 flood will have to be removed this time, Pickens said.
At Kipos Greek Taverna, restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias and Mariakakis Plaza owner Johnny Mariakakis briefly talked with Stein, before the governor held a short news conference.
“A few hours of rain can completely turn lives upside down,” Stein said. He praised the response by local emergency responders and the county, Chapel Hill and Carrboro officials.
“So many different actors came together to try to minimize the human suffering of this storm and save lives, and we’re all so incredibly grateful for them,” he said.
The visit followed the governor’s state of emergency declaration in 13 counties, including Orange County, on Thursday. The state is in the assessment phase of determining business and residential damages, as well as the damage to public infrastructure.
There is no timeline for completing the analysis and submitting an application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which will make a recommendation for assistance to President Donald Trump, said Will Ray, the state’s director of Emergency Management.
The water has not fully receded in some counties, he said, and areas remain inaccessible in others.
Federal help could include Small Business Administration programs and low-interest loans, as well as money to help with urgent needs, such as the emergency response, housing support, and the cost of removing debris.
Stein visits Camelot Village flood victims
At flood-prone Camelot Village, one of the town’s most affordable apartment complexes that sits on the banks of Bolin Creek, Stein spent a few minutes talking with residents.
Piles of debris ringed several buildings in the complex waiting to be taken away. Residents who were displaced from the complex are staying with friends and family, or have been given rooms at local hotels.
Dah Dah, a Karen refugee from Myanmar (Burma), was in her apartment when the water crested the creek banks and enveloped her apartment. A rescue crew pulled her through a window into a boat, she said, but her family lost everything.
“We barely made it out alive,” Dah said. “The water was strong.”
While they know the complex floods — they went through a less damaging flood last July — there was no time to respond this time, her husband Kyaw Kay and their neighbor Thein Zan said. The water receded as quickly as it rose, they said.
For now, the couple is staying with Dah’s sister. Their neighbor and his brother have a room at a local hotel.
“That’s terrible. We’re very sorry,” Stein told the couple after hearing their story. “Our hearts go out to you.”
Camelot Village HOA property manager Barbara Duffy said they would like to redevelop the buildings that flood, but there are some owners of second-story units that don’t get flooded and don’t want to sell. That situation also prevented the town from using a $2.3 million FEMA grant to buy the flood-prone buildings in 2005.
This time, the water was so strong and fast that it swept away the split-rail fence around the complex, and other people had to be pulled from cars on Estes Drive. They are grateful that Stein is bringing awareness to the storm victims, Duffy said.
“To know that he cares, and that we are going to try to get those resources for these people, it means a lot,” Duffy said.
Recovery ongoing for business, residents
Chantal dropped 5 to 10 inches of rain on central North Carolina in just a few hours July 6, causing unprecedented floods.
At least six people were killed, including a Person County woman whose car was swept off an Orange County road, and 70 people were rescued from flooded homes and businesses.
Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson said Friday that public housing residents affected by the flooding have been moved into hotels, and the town is also working with the county to help Camelot Village residents.
Dozens of Carrboro residents also were rescued from damaged homes and apartments, and the town lost about 90% of its Public Works equipment and roughly 60% of its other vehicles, including about 15 police cars. The town is borrowing equipment from neighboring governments while waiting for new equipment to arrive.
A report issued this week estimated $56 million in preliminary damages to 210 Orange County homes, dozens of businesses, and an untold number of cars. The estimate includes $17 million in damages to Eastgate Crossing, University Place and Mariakakis Plaza in Chapel Hill, plus another $3.1 million in damages to Camelot Village Condominiums.
Some businesses in University Place have reopened, while others, including Stoney River and Silverspot Cinema will take a little longer. A Stoney River spokesperson said in an email Friday that the restaurant could reopen in August.
Most retailers and restaurants at Eastgate Crossing remain closed. Some have been able to find jobs for their employees at other stores in the area. Others have set up fundraisers to help employees who were left temporarily without a job.
▪ Guglhupf is hosting a Bake and Rebuild Bash starting at noon Saturday at its Durham store on Chapel Hill-Durham Boulevard to raise money for its employees and other businesses at Eastgate.
▪ The American Red Cross will be providing individual assistance (financial support) to qualifying disaster survivors in Orange County. Learn more from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Drakeford Library Complex, 203 S. Greensboro St. in Carrboro You can also get help by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.
▪ To find out how you can help your friends and neighbors through the Tropical Storm Chantal Community Giving Fund, go here. If you prefer to donate by mail, please write a check made out to Orange County Government and mail it to: Orange County Finance, PO Box 8181, Hillsborough, NC 27278 ATTN: Accounting
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This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 7:16 PM.
