BURGAW, N.C. (WECT) – There’s too much water covering roads in Southeastern North Carolina. Days after Tropical Storm, Debby pushed out of the state and follow-up downpours added to the already swollen rivers.

Right now, there’s nowhere for some of that water to go, leaving Highway 53 impassable in some places.

According to Pender County Emergency Management Director Tommy Batson, the river crested at 16.51 ft on NC-53 at 4:15 a.m. Tuesday morning. Batson adds that some parts of Hwy 53 are seeing five to six feet deep water.

But people in the area say they’ve seen similar flooding before.

“Anytime you got flooding, you got to pack up and get,” said Doug Dicksey, who lives off Highway 53.

Batson says homes along the Black and Northeast Rivers have been cut off to vehicle traffic.

Dicksey says this isn’t the first time this has happened.

“If their house is low, they’re in trouble,” said Dicksey.

Dicksey had to rebuild his home along the Northeast Cape Fear River after Hurricane Florence hit in 2018. He even bought a second home away from the river because of times like this.

“Last time it got higher, quite a bit higher, and you couldn’t come through here. But now at 16.5, If it gets another foot, you won’t be able to come through here,” said Dicksey.

But he says he doesn’t think it’ll come to that.

“It’s topping out now, so we’re very fortunate,” said Dicksey.

Batson says some people have evacuated to stay with friends and family, whereas others opted to stay. He says some neighbors are even using boats to commute to and from their homes and are parking their vehicles on dry land until the water recedes.

Batson adds that all people can do is wait for the water to recede, which he expects to happen by this weekend.

He says once the water recedes, NCDOT will inspect the roads to make sure they are not compromised.

For people like Dicksey, the flooding is just a bump in the road.

“You’ll find out if you live down here. It’s worth it every now and then, every four years or something, to have a little flood, but it’s not bad at all. I don’t think it is,” said Dicksey.

Batson says the state sent crews and equipment into the county for the storm and they ended up making about a dozen water rescues.

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