Flood water from Hurricane Florence still afflicts some North Carolina hog farmers more than two weeks after the storm reached land, said the state Department of Environmental Quality on Tuesday. For the 10th day in a row, the DEQ reported 41 manure lagoons were flooded or overflowing at hog farms.
An additional 56 lagoons were in danger of overflowing, said the DEQ in its daily tally. A spokeswoman said “though the numbers have not shifted,” the agency checks its database each day and updates its Dashboard accordingly. The state Agriculture Department has estimated agricultural losses of $1.1 billion from Florence, the bulk of it in crops.
North Carolina is the top state in sweet potato and tobacco production, said Accuweather. Half of the tobacco crop was still in the field when the hurricane arrived. Larry Wooten, president of the North Carolina Farm Bureau, said rather than looking for a profit, “You’re just trying to salvage what you can.”
A group of farm workers were stranded at a labor camp near Kinston by the hurricane and when they called for help, a rescue team was dispatched but called back when the farm owner said the 35-40 men were fine, reported Buzzfeed. The camp was flooded.