Carolina Shores prepares for storm after cleanup from 2015 flooding

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — As we continue to pay close attention to Tropical Storm Hermine, several towns along the coasts are gearing up.

Last fall, heavy rainfall flooded several Brunswick County areas. Chad Pruitt said his street in Carolina Shores was flooded.

“It was totally flooded all the way up to my sidewalks,” Chad Pruitt said.

Heavy rain following Hurricane Joaquin dumped 24 inches of rain in parts of Brunswick County.

“It definitely flooded a lot of the neighbors back here,” Pruitt said.

Pruitt said his house did not flood, but others in Carolina Shores did.

Town Administrator Jon Mendenhall said lots of the neighborhood was flooded.

“We recovered from that using state assistance,” Mendenhall said. “We were not federally declared.”

Mendenhall said it took $150,000 from the state to clean out their drainage systems and they are still working on new easements and management plans.

“There is a huge public education component,” Mendenhall said.

He said homeowners need to consider things like flood insurance or dry floodproofing, but he said the town is in much better shape than it was before.

“We are prepared,” Mendenhall said. “Are we prepared to handle an act of God that could dump 24 inches of rain? No one could be prepared for that, so we encourage residents and we encourage our staff even to recognize that they have to take meaningful steps. They can’t ignore these situations.”

While many hope Tropical Storm Hermine has little impact in the Cape Fear, some of the visitors plan on enjoying the beaches rain or shine.

“I’m a beach person and I want to be on the beach,” Silvia Kroeck said. “It doesn’t matter. It’s nice you know? I have the whole beach to myself today.”

Mendenhall says Carolina Shores has a code red system and an e-mail listserv to keep residents informed.