Belhaven resident documents Florence as floodwaters reach his home
BELHAVEN, N.C. (KTVU) - A Belhaven resident documented Florence as he remained at his family's home during the storm. Ben Johnson says although they suffered damage to their property, the floodwaters have since receded.
He says cleanup is now underway and he's re-opened the hardware store he owns called Riddick and Windley Ace Hardware.
Here's a timeline of Ben Johnson's posts
Thursday at 10:20 p.m.
In his first video update Johnson gives a view of the floodwater under his carport. Johnson shows logs and other debris floating through the water as the water level appears to be nearing his windows.
Friday at 12:50 a.m.
Johnson posted video with the caption "Not good!" He was standing six steps up to his home and waves were crashing at his feet. The video shows water reaching the basement's windows.
Thursday at 8:20 a.m.
Johnson compares Hurricane Florence to other storms and says, "This is the highest I have ever seen it." He shows video from his upper deck of floodwater around the home saying, "I have never seen this relentless push of water... Friday morning we're still here." He adds "we obviously can't get out."
Friday at 9:10 a.m.
Johnson explains their garage door is now gone and "the boat house is taking quite a beating." He reports everyone is safe and sound and "as good as we can be."
Friday at 9:15 a.m.
Johnson gives a view of the floodwaters. He pans over to the family's dog on the steps saying "This poor guy has to pee like nobody's business."
Friday at 11:24 a.m.
Johnson posted video showing waves crashing against his boat house. He shows a shifted AC unit noting how strong the winds are. "I saw a couple of my good friends and neighbor's rescuing my contents so maybe we can salvage a few things," he said.
When asked about the extent of damages Johnson tells KTVU, "Personally we lost everything in our garage freezers refrigerator etc... All garage doors are blown out and we're missing a few steps.
At the hardware store we had between 6-12" inches of flooding. We lost a couple of thousand dollars in merchandise but overall fared fairly well. Serv Pro is here with extractors, dehumidifiers, and fans."