© 2026 Blue Ridge Public Radio
Blue Ridge Mountains banner background
Your source for information and inspiration in Western North Carolina.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Notice - BPR News on 89.1 in Clyde is off air while repairs are being performed - Notice

Taking Stock Of Roads And Rivers As Florence Flood Waters Recede

David Burden with the Waterkeeper Alliance points to what he says is coal ash floating on the banks of the Cape Fear River
Jason DeBruyn
/
WUNC
David Burden with the Waterkeeper Alliance points to what he says is coal ash floating on the banks of the Cape Fear River

 The historic flooding from Florence has eased, but communities and environmentalists are just beginning to take stock of the damage it caused.

Host Frank Stasio talks with WUNC data reporter Jason deBruyn about the damage and clean up after Hurricane Florence.

Infrastructure breeches may have sent coal ash spilling into the Cape Fear River, and environmentalists worryDuke Energy’s water samples do not provide the full picture. Meanwhile hundreds of roads remain closed, with officials not yet able to determine the extent of needed repairs.

Host Frank Stasio talks with WUNC data reporter Jason deBruyn about what the hurricane left behind and how communities are starting to clean it up. 

Copyright 2018 North Carolina Public Radio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
Jennifer Brookland is a temporary producer for The State of Things.