BL136(1)

BL136(2)

Beaufort County residents could do little more than watch and hope for the best Saturday, September 18, 1999, as floodwaters from the Tar River began rushing downstream. The floodwaters put rivers above flood stage. Waters on Highway 17 rose so quickly that the North Carolina Highway Patrol closed the highway between the Pamlico River Bridge and Cliff's Seafood in Chocowinity. The Tar River crested in Tarboro at 43 feet above flood stage. Greenville's portion of the Tar River was at 27.97 feet, which broke an eighty year old record. The water short-circuited Greenville's main power plant, leaving residents without power. Damage to two Edgewater Beach homes (along the Pamlico River) are shown with the owners of one of the homes, Charles and Clarissa Phillips.