4 Inches of rain in 2 hours causes flash flooding in Sampson County

Flash flooding forced the state DOT to shut down two roads in Sampson County Friday afternoon after four inches of rain fell in just a couple of hours.

Residents in the area near Spivey's Corner anxiously watched the water levels, hoping they would not rise any further and flood their homes.

Heavy rain early this morning caused flooding in Sampson County.

Ponds and streams overflowed, and water rushed over about a dozen roads. Yards of several homes off Highway 13 near Spivey's Corner were also flooded.

Shanel Brown, a resident of the area, said she woke up to find that her neighbor's yard had been flooded by a stream behind her home.

"I was sleep and when I woke up everything was under water," Brown said.

Brown said that the water did not get into her house, but she was afraid that it would start raining again.

"I don't know what's going to happen. I just have to leave," Brown said.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) had reports of about a dozen roads impacted by flash flooding.

Crews from NCDOT moved swiftly to assess the damage and shut down roads, but that did not stop some people from driving through the water.

The two closed roads were Roanoke Road and Straw Pond Road in the Midway Spivey's Corner area.

"It looks like it probably just covered with water. We don't think or see any road damage or pipe washout," said Andrew Barksdale, NCDOT spokesman. "It's just we have to let the water recede. That is what it looks like for these two. They are the only two state-maintained that are impacted right now by today's rain."

WRAL also checked on roads in Cumberland County, but the NCDOT had no reports of flash flooding impacting roads in that county.