In Princeville, memories of Floyd resonate 20 years later

Hurricane Floyd almost demolished the oldest town in the country founded by African-Americans. The 20 years that have passed since the fury of Floyd drowned most of Princeville have not washed away the memories.

Life goes on. In fact, some of the neighborhoods are in great shape. Others are still haunted by the ghost of Floyd.

"When Floyd came, they kept telling me we had to leave, and I just didn't believe it I was the last one out," Gina Bridgers said.

She became a believer when Floyd pushed the Tar River into her house.

"Trust me," she said. "You don't forget it. I have a two-story house, and it was 7 feet on the inside of my house and it stayed for 10 days! You don't forget that stuff."

Another believer is Pastor Stairlon Gregory. For 37 years he's led Gateway To Heaven Church.

"On the day Floyd came in, I was sitting on the steps ... the sun was out. By 2 a.m. the next morning, we heard the sirens sounding out and helicopters flying over. They said the whole town of Princeville was flooding," he said.

It was all happening so fast, those who decided to stay were caught off guard.

"The water came in at night. It was just a horrifying situation," Gregory said.

Much of the historic little town was reduced to boarded-up windows, collapsing rooftops and overgrown yards.

Because the Tar River floods so often, some have suggested moving the whole town. That idea meets with mixed reaction from current residents.

"This is an example of our history, and I think it should be preserved at all costs," one resident said.

Bridgers, on the other hand, would welcome a move.

"Move me," she said. "It's terrible for somebody my age to be worried about a flood."