NPR

'I Lost Literally Everything': Historic Town Cleans Up After Catastrophic Flooding

William Donelson came back to New Bern, N.C. to find his one-story brick apartment condemned. The town got a nearly 10-foot storm surge from Hurricane Florence.
William Donelson transfers his fish from his aquarium after his apartment was flooded by Florence.

In downtown New Bern, N.C. , accountant Mike Rogers, hammer in hand, spent Sunday tearing two feet of drenched drywall out of his CPA office.

"At least it's not tax season," he says, trying to keep a good attitude after a foot of water flooded the storefront office. He's using fans to dry things out, as colleagues remove files from the second story.

"It came in quick, left quick," Rogers says. "We're trying to save as much as we can."

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