The scenic town on the banks of the Lumber River was damaged by hurricanes twice in three years.
The Lumber River, its waters dark and tannic, flows along the northwest side of Fair Bluff. The river flooded Main Street, just a block away, during hurricanes Matthew and Florence. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
Fair Bluff’s Main Street is a commercial dead zone after being flooded twice in three years. The only business to have reopened in the flooded section is the U.S. Post Office. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
A map that hangs in the conference room of Fair Bluff’s rebuilt town hall shows, in blue, the sections of town that flooded during Hurricane Matthew. Commercial buildings are colored orange and homes are shaded pink. The dark squiggle in the upper left is the Lumber River. The same homes and businesses flooded again during Hurricane Florence. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
Billy Hammond, mayor of Fair Bluff, stands beside the town’s flag-lined Main Street. “We have a hard road ahead of us to recover and come back,” he said. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
Mike Mike’s, a computer repair shop, is one of the many businesses along Fair Bluff’s Main Street that did not reopen after the floods. The store interior is filled with debris. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
The high-water mark from Hurricane Florence is still visible on the buildings that line Main Street. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
Even before the storms, decline was evident. About half the storefronts were occupied before Hurricane Matthew, local leaders said. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
Civic groups, churches, and local businesses participated in a parade down Main Street on April 27, 2019. The parade was part of BBQ on the Bluff, a pork barbeque competition that is one of Fair Bluff’s annual celebrations. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
Bonnie Savage works at Johnny’s Drive-In, now the only restaurant in Fair Bluff. Her home damaged by the floods, Savage has been living with her brother in Cerro Gordo, a town 7 miles away, while she awaits federal money to rebuild. “This is family land, so we’re keeping it,” Savage said. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
Dozens of abandoned homes litter the flood zone. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
That comma submerged in the water is a bench on the left bank of the Lumber River. The river, which parallels Fair Bluff’s Main Street, was running high in April after a wet winter and spring. Town residents use the bench to gauge the river’s height. It is their literal benchmark for the river. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
Three days later – three dry days later – the Lumber River had receded so that the bench’s seat was completely visible. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue
Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton
