Chocowinity Fire and EMS personnel rescued residents of Whichards Beach and Sand Hill roads today, as the storm surge from Hurricane Florence inundated the area.

“We’ve been removing people out of their residences that were trapped, who’d never had water in their houses before,” said Chocowinity Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tommy Pendley.

Power has been out for much of the community since the early morning hours Friday, when the full brunt of wind and rain from Florence began to be felt.

Between the floodwater rescues and clearing trees from major roads, Pendley said his crew has been busy.

“We’ve probably cleared a couple dozen trees,” Pendley said.

He said they’d probably be doing the same  for the remainder of Friday.

“As long as it keeps raining, the water’s going to stay right where it is — the wind will blow steady throughout the rest of the day, into the night,” Pendley said.