Special Report: Floyd Update.Amy Salter, 15, grew up swimming and fishing in North Carolina's Neuse River The Neuse River is a major permanent stream rising in the piedmont of North Carolina, emptying into the Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approx. 325 km (195 mi), and its drainage basin, measuring 14,582 km² in area, lies entirely inside the state of . Now, she says, "I'm afraid to even stick my toe in the water." In the aftermath of last September's Hurricane Floyd This article is about the 1999 hurricane. For other storms of the same name, see Tropical Storm Floyd (disambiguation). Hurricane Floyd was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. , the Neuse River is the color of diluted blood. Why is it red? "A witch's brew of pollutants washed into coastal rivers during Floyd," says Rick Dove, Neuse river-keeper, who patrols and protects the river from polluters. FLOYD'S WRATH Last fall, Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd dumped nearly 3 feet of rain along the North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. coast--the largest and most disastrous flood in Verb 1. flood in - arrive in great numbers arrive, come, get - reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress; "She arrived home at 7 o'clock"; "She didn't get to Chicago until after midnight" the area's recorded history Recorded history can be defined as history that has been written down or recorded by the use of language, whereas history is a more general term referring simply to information about the past.[1] It starts in the 4th millennium BC, with the invention of writing. . Rivers swelled into raging floodwaters, leaving thousands of residents homeless, and destroying more than 2 million acres of crops. Sewage from 20 waste treatment plants washed into rivers along with toxic chemicals from factories, and oil and gas from damaged fuel tanks. Worst of all, an estimated 300,000 pig carcasses floated into local waterways--along with untreated animal waste from hog farms in the watershed (surrounding land from which river systems collect runoff rainwater). Farmers store hog waste in special lagoons, or small lakes, which hold between 2 and 50 million gallons of waste. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. eyewitnesses, at least 60 lagoons leaked into rivers in just one-third of the flooded area. SICK FISH The toxic brew left behind by the hurricanes could damage already threatened fish populations for generations to come, scientists say. The Albemarle/Pamlico Estuary, where coastal rivers meet the sea in a maze of inlets, bays, and sounds, is the second-largest estuary in the U.S. Many fish and shellfish lay eggs there, and their young hatch and grow in the shallow, brackish brack·ish adj. 1. Having a somewhat salty taste, especially from containing a mixture of seawater and fresh water: "You could cut the brackish winds with a knife/Here in Nantucket" (salt and fresh) waters. But many fish are already sick. "Right now, in Pamlico Sound, 100 percent of the fish have sores," says Dove. Even if stronger environmental laws are passed, Dove thinks the area's recovery will take a long time. "We may have to live with this for 20 to 30 years until the river can clean itself," he says. |
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