As Hurricane Florence roared into the North Carolina coast Friday, a CBS television crew from Washington, D.C. was airing periodic updates of the extensive and historic damage from the patio of the Wilmington, N.C., condominium of Smethport native Dr. Brady Semmel.
A 1988 graduate of Smethport Area Junior-Senior High School, Semmel has a private practice, Semmel Oral and Facial Surgery, in Wilmington. His father and sister still live in Smethport.
Wilmington is one of the cities that was in the path of Florence, the strong and slow-moving storm that has dumped record amounts of rain, causing historic and widespread flooding in the Carolinas and continues to cause major flooding as it heads inland and north.
Florence lagged off the coast Thursday before coming ashore at Wrightsville Beach, N.C., a popular resort area, east of Wilmington.
“Once it hit Wrightsville Beach, it made a direct turn down the coast,” Semmel said.
Semmel and his wife, Dana, a dentist, who have resided in Wilmington since 2002, have endured other bad storms, but nothing of this magnitude.
“Most of those storms blew through with maybe one day of bad weather, and the next day was sunny with blue skies,” Semmel told The Era in a telephone interview.
Florence was different though. Vastly different.
“Friday morning was when the hurricane’s eye passed over us, and it was very calm, of course,” Semmel noted. “After that, the storm became more intense throughout the day. That part of the storm hit us, unfortunately, as the tide was rising and we had had a high tide event earlier at noon. That’s when the storm was pretty intense and brought in a lot of additional water.”
While Florence was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane when it hit shore, the problem has been that it was so large and moving slowly, Semmel said.
“The storm is basically still here and inland flooding is getting worse,” he said. “It could be days before the water levels begin receding.
“Prior to Florence, Wilmington was already on track to break our record for annual rainfall, and with this additional amount that can be measured in feet, we totally smashed through that.”
Despite the flooding, Wilmington was never under a mandatory evacuation order, so the Semmels decided to stay in their condo on an inland waterway. Some water entered the first floor of the three-level unit, all of which are livable.
“A small amount of water entered the ground floor, which is similar to a garage and small living area,” Semmel said. “We had to pull up carpets and move furniture upstairs. There is so much humidity that the floor remains too wet so new carpets can’t be installed yet.”
The condo was not structurally damaged. Due to strict building codes that are in effect for coastal areas prone to hurricanes, the Semmels’ building is very sturdy. The entire ground floor and all the walls are made of solid concrete almost a foot thick. Pilings, or anchors, that are installed about 35 feet into the ground anchor the structure.
The TV news crew arrived at the Semmel residence Friday after the tide went down and the water receded. With Wilmington’s power interrupted, the four-man crew used their self-contained power units to send out news updates about the hurricane’s status periodically from about 2 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
The perfect hosts, regardless of the weather, the Semmels provided a meal for the crew. With a chuckle, Semmel said, “Rather than having food spoil in our freezer, we used our propane grill on the patio to prepare hamburgers without rolls and several kinds of fish, which we had to thaw out. There were also cans of corn and beans.
“We had a candlelight dinner as one of the crew members shined his LED battery-powered light on the ceiling, illuminating the dining room.”
Semmel’s medical office, which escaped damage, has been closed since Tuesday since many of the employees, some with small children, were evacuated Wednesday.
With the water not expected to recede for days, Wilmington remains isolated as there are no passable roads in and out of the city of about 117,000. Even after the water recedes completely, additional time will be required for engineers to inspect the roads and bridges are structurally safe to be reopened.
Ironically, with all the flood water, the Semmels still have water service since the city water authority have generators that are powered.
Power has been off since 5 a.m. Friday, and Semmel doesn’t expect it to be restored for about a week, even though utility crews have arrived from Florida and Ohio. “Sunday was probably the first day crews could deal with downed trees and power lines,” said Semmel. “I’d be surprised if electricity is back on before this weekend.”
Adding to the city’s woes, a news report on Sunday indicated that the supply of fuel needed for generators is dwindling quickly. There has been talk of getting fuel into the city via planes or ships.
Shortly before Florence hit Wilmington, Semmel moved his boat across the waterway to Wrightsville Beach to a safe new marina which has good docks. He brought the boat back to his dock Sunday. “We’re basically living on the boat because it has its own generator, fresh water and showers,” he stated.
Semmel praised the emergency service personnel as they work tirelessly in rescue and recovery activities — the hurricane has turned deadly. He said, “There was intermittent rain on Sunday, but It could be days before we see the sun.”
