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Beaufort County is one of few North Carolina counties that did not experience weather related damage, accidents or deaths this week as Tropical Storm Debby crawled through the Tar Heel state. 

Brandon Tester, communications director for Beaufort County Government, shared on Friday morning (Aug. 9) that “thankfully” there are “no incidents to report from Tropical Storm Debby.” 

As of Friday morning, there were no reports of outages from Tideland EMC and Duke Energy Progress. Tideland EMC reported one power outage on Thursday around noon. More than 350 customers lost power for over an hour. A downed tree caused the outage. 

North Carolina Department of Transportation shared that Bergin Road, near Rowe Road in the south west region of Aurora is closed. The unpaved secondary road is closed due to high water and washouts. The impact to traffic in that area is low. 

Beaufort County remains under a flood watch, per reports from the National Weather Service. Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be a possibility. “Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Extensive street flooding and flooding of creeks and rivers are possible.” 

“Debby is exiting the area but we will have another day of periodic showers and thunderstorms, some of which could produce heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts. The flash flood threat is not over, so stay vigilant and do not attempt to drive across flooded roads,” the National Weather Service shared on Friday morning via social media. 

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Pamlico River is at a 2.68 ft. flood stage as of noon on Friday which requires no action. Washington’s flood stage peaked on Thursday at around 2:15 p.m. at 4.64 ft. A flood stage, NOAA describes is, “an established gage height for a given location above which a rise in water surface level begins to create a hazard to lives, property, or commerce.”

Tester added that Beaufort County Emergency Services does not anticipate “significant storm surge impacts” at this time. 

“We do not anticipate significant storm surge impacts at this time. We are monitoring the possibility of downriver flooding through next week, and are also watching for any additional tropical developments that could impact our area. We will share updates on any hazards that arise,” he wrote in an email to the Daily News. 

Per statewide news outlets, Debby has weakened to a tropical storm cyclone. This week, North Carolina saw confirmed six tornadoes across Wilson, Greene, Franklin and Vance Counties. There were two deaths – one in Wilson County and another in Rockingham County.