Tropical Depression Chantal brings tornado warnings, flooding to central and southern North Carolina

By WRAL staff

As Tropical Depression Chantal moved through North Carolina on Sunday, many residents were left behind with flooded roads and wind damage.

The National Weather Service issued five tornado warnings throughout Sunday afternoon, mostly in Lee and Chatham counties.

Sanford officials reported seeing tornado damage at the Raleigh Executive Jetport in Sanford. It is unclear how severe the possible tornado was.

When residents weren’t dealing with tornado warnings, much of southern North Carolina was hit with intense flooding as Chantal moved through.

According to Mike Anderson, Southern Pines fire chief and assistant town manager, the Longleaf Dam broke and flooded several homes and apartment complexes. Boat crews and swimmers were used to rescue people who were trapped in there cars.

Anderson added that several retaining walls failed due to the flooding, forcing multiple shopping centers to close down.

No one was hurt.

Photos: Storm damage, flooding brought by Tropical Storm Chantal

In Cary, police said a storm drain became blocked which caused rainwater to pond on the road on the U.S. Highway 1 ramp off of Tryon Road, which caused a car to get trapped.

The ramp has since reopened.

In Moore County, emergency workers sent out alerts warning people to avoid the roads as intense rain. Some areas reported seeing up to 10 inches of rain.

If you have any photos of storm damage, and it’s safe to do so, please send them to WRAL ReportIt.