Stories of Rescue and Grief in the wake of Hurricane Florence

Staying on the spot seemed like a good idea for Jeanette Rivera until Hurricane Florence hit the ground on Friday.

As the wind was beating and water was rapidly rising around her house at Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, Rivera cursed herself for not leaving when she had had the opportunity – and was waiting for her. Be saved.

"I'm really angry to stay," Rivera, 47, told NBC News. "I just want to get out of here."

Rivera said that one of his friends had already called the Cajun Navy, Louisiana's boating team, which had ripped dozens of people stranded on the roofs of their flooded homes last year to Houston, to pick her up.

"Half of my dock is floating," she says. "Our house is completely surrounded by the ocean from all sides.I have the impression that our house could go to any minute.We already have a foot in there. water in our garage and the neighbor's house is completely flooded. "

Ms. Rivera said that she and her husband flew over other storms at home. She said that they remembered how difficult it was for residents to return after Hurricane Matthew in 2007.

Also, says Rivera, her husband is a doctor and they wanted to be present in case someone needed his help. But now they need help.

"It's hard for me to watch," she said. "Every angle I look at, I am surrounded by the ocean."

Rivera was not the only person to save. Just north of where it was abandoned, the Craven County rescue teams were busy.

"We currently have more than 188 rescue calls for 488 people and calls continue to arrive," said Craven County spokeswoman Amber Parker. "We have people who report that they are trapped in attics, they are on their roofs, and also in flooded vehicles."

Parker said they had deployed five white water rescue teams and that they were also working with the North Carolina Emergency Management Team – as well as the Cajun Navy.

"We have people calling themselves," Parker said. "We have family members who contact us, they have been without electricity for a while and their phone batteries are running out, so we have family members who call and continue to call. and we are trying to reach everyone as quickly as possible. "

In Wilmington, the help apparently came too late after a tree fell on a house and the confinement of three people.

Lester Holt, of NBC, who was on the scene, said the firefighters were able to get one of the victims out of the house and that it seemed to be conscious.

Shortly after, firefighters emerged from the broken structure with glances on their tired faces. Their body language spoke volumes: we could see them kneel to pray.

It was later confirmed that a woman and her 8-month-old child had died at home.

"We also had two deaths here in the city because of a tree that fell on a house," said Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo. "It's a dangerous situation, always a very dangerous situation."