Governor Pat McCrory toured Tyrrell and Washington counties Sunday, Sept. 4, to assess the damage caused by Tropical Storm Hermine.

“Our emergency operations team and county, local and city officials throughout the state have worked together to help wherever it was needed, from Sunset Beach to the Outer Banks,” Governor McCrory said. “While the majority of the state did not see major damage, many of our farmers and a number of North Carolina’s coastal communities have been impacted by Hermine.”

The governor made stops in Creswell and Columbia to see firsthand how the agriculture community, especially corn, soybean and cotton farmers, were impacted from gusty winds and heavy rain.

While the state is still evaluating damage, farmers in the two counties are hopeful that floodwaters will recede quickly from fields, to allow the roots of crops planted there to breathe, a spokesman said.

The governor was accompanied by N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, N.C. Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry and other state and local officials.

Federal government regulation of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is compounding flooding issues on these farms, the governor stated. He highlighted how the federal government is trying to convert farmland into swampland, and that the state is continuing its effort to protect North Carolina farmers and economic development.

Farmland in Washington County makes up about 91,398 acres while Tyrrell County farmland is 64,590 acres. Washington and Tyrrell counties received at least 5-10 inches of rain during the storm.