Officials in Bertie County are keeping a close eye on this week's rain as the county continues to recover from recent storms.County leaders say they're still waiting for financial assistance from FEMA nearly eight months after Hurricane Matthew.
Bertie County Commissioners Chair John Trent said he worries rural areas are being forgotten as another hurricane season approaches.
“We're in a situation that people here need the help, the help that they deserve,” Trent said. “Population shouldn't have anything to do with it. What we need is people coming in to give us help, and we need the financial support that we haven't received as of yet.”
Trent said the county has approval to build a new emergency services building, which was destroyed in Hurricane Matthew, but it still hasn't gotten the money for it.
A widespread flood watch is still in effect for central and eastern North Carolina until late tonight.
On Tuesday, a tornado with winds of 110 mph damaged a fire station and several mobile homes in eastern North Carolina.
No serious injuries were reported when the tornado touched down three times in Sampson County late Tuesday afternoon. A curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. was imposed in Autryville, a town of about 200 people about 15 miles east of Fayetteville.
Weather service officials will visit Parkton in Robeson County to determine whether a tornado damaged some buildings about an hour before the storm ripped through Autryville.
Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton said one man was treated by emergency personnel after suffering minor injuries when a mobile home overturned. Thornton said all other injuries were scrapes and bruises.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
