Almost a month later, areas of Chapel Hill are still feeling the effects of Hurricane Florence.
One such place is the Eastgate Shopping Center, which houses both food and retail businesses, of which Bruegger’s Bagels, Starbucks and others remain closed, after Eastgate suffered several feet of flooding.
The area sits between the Bolin and Booker Creek floodplains, causing especially high water levels during heavy rains. Rescuers pulled 40 people from the muddy water during the storm.
Clean Juice, a juice and smoothie bar, saw between three to five inches of rain, and was among the last of the stores to see flooding and among the first to see water levels recede.
“We have cement floors and several floor drains, so my kids and I worked quickly to squeegee the water out the front door and down the drains,” owner Beth Ellis said. “[To be safe] we threw away a lot of produce and spices.”
Clean Juice closed September 17 and was able to reopen September 26. Preparing the store to reopen took much of that week.
“We removed all the cove base and molding throughout the store and drilled holes to allow for the ServSafe drying equipment to do its work,” Ellis said. “The walls had to be repaired, and the cove base replaced throughout the store, and then there was deep cleaning.”
Although water levels rose to above two feet outside the store, preparation before the storm ensured that the water levels did minimal damage.
“Our preparation included sandbags. Perhaps a few more would have helped [more],” Ellis said. “Hindsight is 20/20, of course.”
Recent construction in the area around Eastgate, such as the Fordham Apartments by Booker Creek, have increased impervious surface areas and therefore also flooding.
North Carolina State University student and Chapel Hill High School alumna Ally Spirina lives near Booker Creek and walked down to see Eastgate during the storm.
“It was surprising to see Eastgate and the Booker Creek trail completely under water, considering how [generally] negligible the impacts of the hurricane were in Chapel Hill, compared to what we were expected,” Spirina said.
The Town of Chapel Hill is currently working with Federal Realty and other developers on a $1.1 million project to expand the wetlands basin behind the shopping center.
“This project will help mitigate but won’t prevent flooding from an extraordinary rain event, such as Hurricane Florence,” town spokeswoman Catherine Lazorko told The Herald Sun.
