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Report: Florence Broke 28 Flood Records

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U.S. Geological Survey personnel use an acoustic Doppler current profiler
to make a stream flow measurement of flood waters from the Cape Fear River in Kelly Sept. 20. Photo: USGS

A U.S. Geological Survey study shows Hurricane Florence broke 28 flood records in the Carolinas, the News & Observer reported.

Eighteen USGS stream gauges in North Carolina and 10 in South Carolina registered record-setting water levels, called peaks of record, according to the report, which looked at peak stream flow and water level data measured at 84 stream gauges in the Carolinas with records going back 10 years or more. In addition, 45 stream gauges in North Carolina and four in South Carolina recorded flows that ranked among the top five on record. Some of the sites with record-breaking flooding had more than 70 years of historical data.

“One thing we discovered while compiling this report was many of the new peaks of record set by Hurricane Florence broke previous records set by Hurricane Matthew in 2016,” Toby Feaster, USGS Hydrologist and lead author of the study, said in a statement. “Since several of the streamgage sites we analyzed had more than 30 years of historical data associated with them, it was interesting that a majority of the number one and two records were from back-to-back flooding events.”

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This report was compiled from submitted information.

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