WILMINGTON — As the people of the Cape Fear Region still come to terms with Hurricane Florence’s widespread impact — from initial damages when it hit the coast, to the flooding that came afterward, and long-term struggles with displacement and re-building — we’ll take you back to the weeks surrounding the storm.
Our first photo series takes an in-depth look into Wilmington in the days before, during, and after the hurricane. It will provide a visual journey into what it was like in a week that saw many residents evacuate while others stayed behind.
“The older folks need to go,” Chris Graham said while loading up sheets of plywood with his father at Lowe’s in Porters Neck.
Standing on Wrightsville Beach with his girlfriend, looking out over the ocean’s horizon, Terrance Gardner was preparing to evacuate.
“I thought everyone was hyping it up like they always do, but it seems to be getting more and more aggressive,” Gardner said.
In the days after the storm struck, we found one bar with its doors open, inviting people in for a drink as they struggled with no electricity and limited stocks of food and supplies.
“Sometimes when the hard time comes, people get united,” Slainte Irish Pub owner Misha Sobel said, wearing a headlamp on the Sunday night after the hurricane struck. “What you saw today here, people from everywhere got united because of hardship. They got united because of social interaction and enjoyment of — to be alive. Live in the day.”
Take a look at Part One: Hurricane Florence strikes Wilmington, below.
