Hurricane Matthew brought devastating wind gusts and flooding to North Carolina, leaving at least 10 dead in the state. The National Weather Service on Monday 10 Oct., issued flood warnings for parts of central and eastern North Carolina after as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain in some spots. The storm made landfall Saturday in South Carolina and has now dissipated in the Atlantic.
Matthew appears to have spared Florida’s citrus belt, with “negligible” harm to oranges and about 10 percent of the grapefruit crop blown from trees, Florida Citrus Mutual spokesman Andrew Meadows said Monday by phone.
Meanwhile, some farmers in North Carolina are reporting that their crops may not be salvageable. Wilson County farmer Gerald Tyner said right now his land is what can only be described as a big mess.
During Hurricane Matthew’s heavy rainfall and strong winds Saturday, Tyner’s farm shop experienced extensive flooding, damaging a lot of his equipment.
"There was a tractor in there,” Tyner said. “Generator, irrigation pumps — we’re still trying to see what, if anything, can be salvaged.”
His equipment was not the only thing devastated in the storm this weekend. He said much of his soybean and peanut crop is still under water.
“We don’t know how long it will be before we can get into the fields,” Tyner said. “The ground is still heavily saturated, so crops like sweet potatoes and peanuts could rot in the ground before we get to them.”
Many farmers are seeing destruction similar to Tyner’s all over eastern North Carolina. On Sunday, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services activated a toll-free hotline to connect farmers with resources that can assist with Hurricane Matthew recovery.
Wilson County farmer Bennett Williford said his cotton and soybeans made it through the storm without much damage, but the vegetables that he planted for the first time this year may be a total loss.
Williford said he has 20 acres full of spinach, turnips and onions that have seen significant soil erosion.
“I planted my onions very recently, and my spinach was was only two to four weeks old,” Williford said. “My turnips were about five weeks old, so they’re probably going to be OK. The others were just so small because they were young. It made them extremely vulnerable.”
Despite the heavy downpour, James Sharp, operator of Deans Farms, said it was the wind that damaged his crops.
Strawberries that were recently planted and lettuce both battled the hurricane force winds, and Sharp said overall the damage to the crop is not significant. The Deans Farm Market was not damaged in the storm either.
“Overall, we’re very fortunate,” he said. “All we can do is repair and move on.”
N.C. Cooperative Extension Agent Norman Harrell said at this point, total damage has not really been assessed, but he believes more than 50 percent of corn that was remaining in the field was blown over by the strong winds. This will cause a harvest loss because any ear of corn that touches the ground will be lost. He said many growers also lost greenhouse tops during the storm.
Sources: Bloomberg.com, wilsontimes.com
