Widespread floods and debris flows in Buncombe, Henderson and McDowell Counties. Railroad tracks covered by slides for hundreds of feet. Rail lines, bridges and roads destroyed. Exact damages unknown, but probably in excess of $0.5 million.

August 10-17,1940 and August 28-31, 1940

Hurricane Fran (Category 3) — made landfall at Cape Fear with widespread power outages, wind damage to trees and roofs as well as downed trees and power lines. Storm surges of 8-12 feet destroyed or seriously damaged numerous beachfront houses. On Topsail Island, a 12-foot-high storm surge caused 40 feet of beach erosion and wiped out dunes as overwash destroyed most of the first row of beach houses and heavily damaged the rest. Extensive flooding was responsible for additional damage as well as widespread power outages.

Hurricane Fran was the worst natural economic disaster to occur in North Carolina to date. The total damage estimate for NC was about $3.2 billion. Damage to crops, livestock, and farm equipment / buildings was $400 million.

The greatest agricultural damage was in Sampson, Johnston and Wayne Counties. Tens of thousands of homes were damaged by falling trees. The copious rainfall produced many severe flash and river floods. A full twelve days after the event, 150 secondary roads were still closed. This hurricane was responsible for 24 deaths statewide.

Hurricane Bonnie (Category 3) — made landfall near Cape Fear and caused widespread flooding and property loss with a 6-8 foot storm surge. This storm resulted in numerous reports of downed trees, roof damage and widespread power outages. This hurricane had wind speeds of up to 115 mph and resulted in one death in NC.

Carteret County appeared to sustain the most damage from the storm. Along the Outer Banks, soundside flooding form the Pamlico Sound produced water levels 4-6 feet above normal in Manteo on Roanoke Island and over portions of Hatteras Island where Route 12 was briefly closed due to high water.

Storm surge at the beaches of Onslow and Carteret counties was generally 3-5 feet above normal with moderate beach erosion. North Topsail Beach lost most of the protective dunes constructed after the hurricanes of 1996. Total NC damage estimates exceeded $720 million. A Federal Disaster was declared.

Hurricane Dennis (Category 2) — Meandered off the NC coast for about one week, resulting in storm tides of 3-5 feet at the coast and higher tides reported in the sounds. After being downgraded to a tropical storm, Dennis made landfall on Core Banks just north of Cape Lookout. Beach erosion and the storm tide effects were extreme on the Outer Banks.

Unfortunately the hurricane approached eastern NC during one of the highest astronomical tides of the month. The dune structure on Hatteras Island was breeched in numerous locations. Just north of Buxton, a 3,000-foot-long section of Highway 12 was completely lost and a new inlet along the Core Banks was formed.

The town of Nags Head estimated their dune loss at $16.5 million. Ocean storm surges were 3-4 feet above normal. Total NC damage estimates of property and crops was about $67 million.

Hurricane Floyd (Category 2) — made landfall near Topsail Island with wind speeds of about 100mph. This hurricane was the third costliest U.S. hurricane (1999-2000) and produced more human misery and environmental impact in NC than any disaster in memory. The 15-20 inches of rain that fell across the eastern half of the state caused every river and stream to flood.

Ocean storm surge was 9-10 feet, inundating barrier islands and causing extensive dune erosion. Floyd was responsible for coastal damage, however, much of the real damage was by severe flooding of more inland areas. This flooding was responsible for extensive livestock deaths with more than 3,000 hogs, 90,000 turkeys, and 200 cows lost to drowninging. Animal waste and septic tanks added pollution to the flooding.

Floyd was the deadliest hurricane since Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and resulted in 35 deaths in NC. Total NC damage estimates were about $4.5 billion. A Federal Disaster was declared.

Hurricane Isabel (Category 2) — made landfall near Drum Inlet with wind speeds of about 100 mph. Major ocean overwash and beach erosion occurred along the North Carolina Outer Banks where waves up to 20 feet in height accompanied by a 6-8 foot storm surge.

In Dare County alone, several thousand homes and businesses, several piers, and sections of Highway 12 were damaged or washed away. A new inlet was opened near Hatteras Village. Widespread wind and storm surge (6-10 feet) damage occurred in coastal NC. Damage estimates for NC totaled about $500 million.