As Florence floodwater recedes, residents wade back to ruined homes

DUPLIN COUNTY, North Carolina - Dressed in a colorful blouse, polka dot rainboots and a full face of makeup, Wendy Rhodes waded into the black, muddy water that covered the quarter-mile driveway to her small North Carolina ranch. Crawfish and hundreds of earthworms wriggled in the floodwater as it swept slowly through this quiet farmland.

Rhodes, 51, doesn’t know how deep the water is, but she isn’t waiting any longer to get home. Three days have passed since she evacuated, and she’s worried about the two horses – Gracie and Dolly – and the mule, Jenny, that she left behind.

Rhodes thought she would have more time to protect the animals, but she was forced to leave in a hurry.

“They had told us we had until Saturday after to evacuate,” Rhodes said. “But when I woke up on Saturday morning, there was already water in our yard.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/as-florence-floodwater-recedes-residents-wade-back-to-ruined-homes/ar-BBNxXT4?li=BBnb7Kz