As storm’s anniversary nears, Cooper visiting battered town

TARBORO, N.C. (AP) – Hurricane Matthew pummeled eastern North Carolina with winds and rain a year ago this weekend.

Now Gov. Roy Cooper is back in the region to talk about future recovery plans and a community destroyed by river flooding.

Cooper is expected to participate in a round table discussion Tuesday in Edgecombe County, not far from Princeville, which was submerged by both Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

The state now plans to purchase some land a couple of miles from Princeville’s current boundaries so town services and others can avoid future Tar River flooding. Cooper will visit that land and also a Princeville resident who recently moved back home after the storm.

About one-third of the 750 single-family homes in Princeville had major damage from Matthew.

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