HYDE COUNTY — For many counties in North Carolina, Hurricane Matthew is but a distant memory.

Hyde County’s Mattamuskeet Association, however, continues to feel the effects and faces widespread damage within its infrastructure, which provides flood protection, drainage and conveyance services and acts as a buffer when the Alligator River floods.

Hurricane Matthew barreled up the East Coast in early October, and the widespread flooding from the storm continued weeks after it passed. Beaufort and Hyde counties saw significant damage to cotton and soybean crops.

“We’ve had bad floods. The one we just went through is the worst thing I have seen in 32 years,” said Wilson Daughtry, a farmer and member of the Mattamuskeet Association.

To help spread the word, Daughtry and wife Debbie enlisted the help of Baldwin Video Productions to tell the story of the Mattamuskeet Association, as well as the long-term effects of Matthew.

Kris Cahoon, Hyde County assistant manager, estimates that the county contributes about $75 million to the state’s economy through agriculture.

In the video, Cahoon said she would like to see the state recognize Hyde’s impact and offer more support to help it get on its feet again. Farmers have faced a few consecutive years of poor weather conditions, she said.

“All of our communities here hinge on the farm industry. That means that our No. 1 natural asset for Hyde County is our land, and we have been inundated,” Cahoon said in the video. “I don’t think people really understand how important agriculture is to the state of North Carolina, and I don’t think they understand how important Hyde County is to that larger picture.”

Matthew caused about $2 million in damage to the association infrastructure, according to Cahoon, and 33 mobile water pumps were brought in, along with the five permanent pumps, to move water out of the area.

It took up to 23 days to move the water out, and pumping operations cost more than $60,000 per day, according to the video.

Hyde and other affected counties’ residents have already received millions of dollars in disaster relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Small Business Association, as well as $10,000 to Hyde from the North Carolina Community Foundation.

In the future, Hyde officials would like to elevate some of the dike system, but at this point, it is not financially feasible. That is why they are now appealing for more help.

“So much of Hyde County is only a foot or so above sea level, so anything that can be done would have to be done on a county-wide basis, and that would need substantial funding from state/federal sources,” Cooperative Extension agent Rod Gurganus wrote in an email. “I don’t know what the state could do, but support for infrastructure (dikes, pumping stations, etc.) seems like a good place to start.”

Gurganus said he doesn’t think FEMA assistance would cover this particular project.

To view the full video, visit www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=XBVNjDyelkM.