Monday, Sept. 24, 2018
The Tar Heel State's long history of hurricanes now includes Florence and her record flooding. Guest host Erik Spanberg explores that history and the lessons learned.
Hurricane Florence roared into North Carolina's hurricane history books with record flooding.
"Our state took a gut punch," Gov. Roy Cooper told President Trump on Wednesday as the president surveyed eastern North Carolina.
Before landfall, when Florence was still at Category 4 strength, it was being compared to Hazel, the monster storm from 1954 that was one of the most violent to ever take aim at North Carolina.
Hurricane historian Jay Barnes said Hazel "stands as a benchmark storm in North Carolina history."
There have been other legendary hurricanes in the decades since, from Floyd and Fran to Hugo, the 1989 storm that caught Charlotte off guard.
The state's run-ins with hurricanes go back to the early explorers, but in just the past three decades "North Carolina (has) experienced a lot of activity," Barnes said.
Barnes has chronicled the state's hurricane history in several books, and he shares what he's learned.
GUEST HOST
Erik Spanberg, Charlotte Business Journal senior staff writer (@CBJspanberg)
GUEST
Jay Barnes, author, North Carolina's Hurricane History and Faces from the Flood: Hurricane Floyd Remembered