PHOTOS: Looking back at Hurricane Floyd’s destruction, 20 years later

By Will Vitka
September 16, 2019 | 9:45 AM

Traffic leading out of Charleston, S.C., is bumper-to-bumper on Interstate 26 as coastal residents evacuate the area, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 1999, as Hurricane Floyd moves closer to South Carolina. First-term Gov. Jim Hodges is blamed by those who said he waited too long to turn Interstate 26 into a one-way road inland. The highway backed up quickly after Hodges ordered an evacuation at noon Tuesday that affected an estimated 800,000 people in coastal areas. Traffic continues at a crawl Wednesday morning.

Toan Le helps his wife, Chi, wade thru the floodwaters on Memorial Drive in Goldsboro, N.C., Thursday, Sept. 16, 1999. The Fairfax, Va. couple were on their way home from a vacation at the N.C. coast when they drove thru the floodwaters, stalling their car, forcing them to adandon it. Heavy rains associated with Hurricane Floyd dumped more that 12 inches of rain on the area overnight. — Toan Le helps his wife, Chi, wade thru the floodwaters on Memorial Drive in Goldsboro, N.C., Thursday September 16, 1999. The Fairfax, Va. couple were on their way home from a vacation at the N.C. coast when they drove thru the floodwaters, stalling their car, forcing them to adandon it. Heavy rains associated with Hurricane Floyd dumped more that 12 inches of rain on the area overnight.

Flooding created by Hurricane Floyd covers downtown Franklin, Va., Friday, Sept. 17, 1999. Floyd went through the area Thursday and produced several days of rain. — Flooding created by Hurricane Floyd covers downtown Franklin, Va., Friday, Sept. 17, 1999. Floyd went through the area Thursday and produced several days of rain. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Floodwaters generated by Hurricane Floyd cover downtown Franklin, Va., Friday, Sept. 17, 1999. Floyd passed through the area Thursday, but generated rain for several days prior to it's arrival. — Floodwaters generated by Hurricane Floyd cover downtown Franklin, Va., Friday, Sept. 17, 1999. Floyd passed through the area Thursday, but generated rain for several days prior to it's arrival. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Residents of Portsmouth, Va., form a line to receive drinking water being distributed by the Virgina National Guard in a shopping mall parking lot Friday, Sept. 17, 1999. Distribution was to begin at noon with residents arriving as early as 9:00 a.m. to wait in line. Water still had not arrived by late afternoon. More than 100,000 people living in Portsmouth and parts of Chesapeake and Suffolk Virginia are without water in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd. Officials say it may be as long as seven to 10days before the water system is back on line.

Hazmat workers assess the situation in Franklin, Virginia, where an oil spill resulted from the Blackwater River jumping its banks after Hurricane Floyd. — Hazmat Workers Assess The Situation In Franklin, Va Where An Oil Spill Resulting From The Blackwater River Jumping Its Banks After Hurricane Floyd.

Some of these homes that were deemed uninhabitable due to flooding following Hurricane Floyd were demolished on Beale St. in downtown Franklin, Virginia. About 80 homes and 140 businesses were affected by the flooding.

This aerial photo shows the Cherry Grove pier torn in half by Hurricane Floyd Thursday, Sept. 16, 1999, in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. Hurricane Floyd roared ashore Thursday, then quickly weakened after flooding the coasts of the Carolinas and Virginia with more than a foot of rain and chasing tens of thousands of people into shelters.

Water stands, mixed with debris, after Hurricane Floyd roared through the small island community of Marsh Harbour in the Great Abaco Islands in the Bahamas Wednesday, Sept. 15, 1999.

These boats are pushed into the brush Wednesday, Sept. 15, 1999 on the island of Eleuthera after Hurricane Floyd passed over the Bahamas on Tuesday with 110mph winds.

A 50 foot section of the Daytona Beach pier drifts off after winds and heavy surf associated with Hurricane Floyd tore it off Wednesday afternoon Sept. 15, 1999 in Daytona Beach, Fla. Thousands of Florida residents were without power, but that state escaped the worst as Floyd swung northward.

A man surveys his flooded neighborhood in Bound Brook, N.J., from his second floor porch in this Sept. 17, 1999 photo. The remnants of Hurricane Floyd that flooded New Jersey last Sept., killed four people, caused more than $500 million in damage and ruined thousands of homes and businesses.

Floodwaters from the Tar River rush past parked planes at the airport in Greenville, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 18, 1999. The Tar River has yet to crest in Greenville from the effects of Hurricane Floyd which passed through the area Thursday.

Cameron Smith, front, rolls furniture out to the street as his father, Tommy, and sister, Lauren, right, help him clean out his flooded home in Rocky Mount, N.C., Tuesday, Sept. 21, 1999. Smith is one of hundreds of people displaced by flooding caused by Hurricane Floyd in the Rocky Mount area.

A stray dog wades through the flood waters covering Vail Lane in Greenville, N.C., to sniff out a fire hydrant Wednesday Sept. 22, 1999. Parts of Greenville flooded when the Tar River left it banks in the wake of Hurricane Floyd, that flooded communities throughout northeast North Carolina.

Water covers a row of houses in Tarboro, N.C. Thursday, Sept. 23, 1999. A week after Hurricane Floyd dumped 20 inches of rain, floodwaters were receding across much of eastern North Carolina. Across the soggy, 18,000-square-mile region, more than 700 roads remained flooded, the number of confirmed deaths inched up to 42, and thousands of people remain in shelters. — Water covers a row of houses in Tarboro, N.C. Thursday, Sept. 23, 1999. A week after Hurricane Floyd dumped 20 inches of rain, floodwaters were receding across much of eastern North Carolina. Across the soggy, 18,000-square-mile region, more than 700 roads remained flooded, the number of confirmed deaths inched up to 42, and thousands of people remain in shelters. (AP Photo/Alan Marler)

Trucks line up to unload at a dump site for flood debris in Bridgewater, N.J. Friday Sept. 24, 1999. Flooding from Hurricane Floyd has generated mounds of flood damaged belongings.

This beach house rests in the sand of Oak Island, N.C., on Friday Oct. 8, 1999, where at 3 a.m. on Sept. 16, 1999, it was ground zero as Hurricane Floyd hit the United States mainland.

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Hurricane Floyd peaked at Category 4 and caused extensive material damages from the Bahamas to the Carolinas and Virginia 20 years ago in 1999.

In South Carolina, motorists sat on Interstate 26 for more than 20 hours in traffic jams caused by the evacuation for Floyd.

Here’s a look back at the storm’s devastation.

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By WTOP Staff
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