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Although Hurricane Florence's water and subsequent flooding began to diminish, she left behind a poignant and harsh reminder of the powerful storm that swamped the Carolinas and turned roads into rivers.
Thousands of dead and dying fish invaded Interstate 40 in North Carolina over the weekend, crashing down there as the waters subsided. A few days earlier, this same stretch of road in Pender County had been immersed, and people traveled along in boats.
"We dumped 30 inches of water in our immediate area. That's why you witnessed the intense floods that caused the deaths of these fish, "said Samantha Hardison, a volunteer firefighter with the Penderlea Fire Department. was instructed to clear the fish from part of the main road.
Some carcasses were quite big, said Mr. Hardison – "about the size of a man's thigh" – and that would have been a threat to drivers as the road began to reopen.
The department used a fire hose for work.
"Well, we can add" washing the fish off the highway "to the long list of interesting things that firefighters can experience!", Writes Hardison in a post posted on the department's Facebook page on Saturday. "Hurricane Florence caused massive flooding in our area and allowed fish to travel far from their natural habitat, stranding on the highway when the waters receded."
When the firefighters arrived, they could not know what was twinkling on the asphalt, Hardison said.
"When we got there, it looked almost like a mirage," she said. "You knew something was on the road, but you could not say it before you stopped there."
And then, there was no mistake of sight or smell.
"It was crazy," said Hardison. "There were thousands."
Nobody in the fire department could remember anything like that in past storms and floods, she said.
"When the chief received the call, he said," Wait, are you serious? You're kidding, right? "Said Hardison.
The firefighters cleared part of the road by a hose, calling the state transportation department to complete the work with different equipment.
[Drone footage shot after Florence shows a massive river in North Carolina. It used to be a highway.]
The work video of the department, published on social networks, had been seen more than half a million views Sunday morning. It was one of many messages shared over the weekend that highlighted massive deaths in fish. A second video showed fish scattered on both sides of the road and another caught in a fence. A transportation department employee also posted gruesome photos of the scene on Interstate 40. In a comment, someone described "the horrible smell of rotting flesh."
Another user wrote that death is sad, but it is a sign of progress.
"Thank God, the water is going backwards," said the commentator. "It has been a long week. Before and after the hurricane. Many losses for so many people here.
More than 40 people have died since Hurricane Florence touched down about 10 days ago, resulting in high winds and heavy rains that killed trees and flooded cities. The storm forced the closure of roads and schools in the southeast coast and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage.
For the Carolinians, the images were yet another illustration of Florence's unique devastation, causing a frightening question: in the days to come, as the water continues to recede, what will it leave behind?
Read more:
A land transformed by water: North Carolina, before and after Hurricane Florence
"The storm itself is not our biggest problem. Our problem is what comes next. "
For the Carolinians of small towns, the question is not when will they rebuild
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