Hillsborough approves over $1 million in repair costs after severe flooding from Chantal

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The Town of Hillsborough is facing over a million dollars in repair costs for equipment damaged by Chantal.

Residents Rich Shaw and Holly Reid reported that water from the Eno River severely flooded their yard.

“Unfortunately, when we woke up, the water was covering the headlights on both of our cars,” said Holly Reid.

The flooding caused significant damage beyond their home.

“My mother-in-law next door had one foot of water in her basement,” Rich Shaw said.

Chantal resulted in severe flooding, bringing over 10 inches of rain, which has left the town with ten vehicles out of service. The town released images showing several vehicles, including solid waste trucks, dump trucks, pickup trucks, brush trucks, and a bucket truck, submerged underwater.

“I was shocked at the level of water and how far it came up,” said Hillsborough Mayor Mark Bell.

The town commission held an emergency meeting on Wednesday night, during which they learned that the estimated cost to replace or repair all the damaged equipment is around $2.3 million. However, they approved just over $1 million to initiate the initial repairs.

“Some of the vehicles can be repaired rather than replaced, but more might not be repairable, which could increase that number,” Bell noted.

Several residents, including Rich Shaw, recalled Hurricane Fran from the 1990s and expressed hopes that more preventative measures can be taken to avoid such severe flooding in the future.

“As we are learning, it’s happening more frequently. This flood was about four to five feet higher,” Shaw stated.

Currently, the town has some equipment on loan to maintain service operations. They also mentioned that if they receive any funds from insurance claims, that money will be added to the fund balance.