Higher Ground | Hard Rain | Faces From the Flood

Higher Ground

For citizens in eastern North Carolina, the flood of 1999 seems like only yesterday. Although nearly a decade has passed since Hurricane Floyd turned eastern North Carolina counties into a wasteland, the effects of this storm still resonates with residents of this region. Many have relocated to areas above the flood plain and rebuilt on "higher ground," while others were forced to move out of the area entirely.

Produced by UNC-TV and award-winning documentarian Donna Campbell, Higher Ground: Rebuilding Down East After the Flood shares the diverse experiences of Hurricane Floyd victims in the new millennium. Throughout this documentary, viewers will recognize several families from the earlier companion program, Hard Rain: Lessons Learned from the Flood of '99, while also being introduced to the plight of new residents alongside many of the relief workers who came to North Carolina from as far away as Ohio, Oklahoma and Canada to help residents rebuild—without compensation.

"Thy fate is the common fate of all; into each life some rain must fall," recites Princeville resident Mrs. Baker from Princeville in an opening scene, as she remembers Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's words in 1803. One resident reflects the flood as a "great equalizer,"affecting both rich and poor. Residents in other scenes reflect on how the disaster introduced them to neighbors who were previously strangers and to kindhearted people from other states who gave their time and energy to the rebuilding effort.

Higher Ground begins in Princeville, where a crew of young adults from a Mennonite church in Canada attempt ot help Princeville, NC, resident Emma Smith rebuild her home. "I thank God for 'em," she says. "And I appreciate everything that they've done for me."

Princeville was the subject of a fierce controversy for some time after the flood, as state officials tried to decide what to do with the land. After residents protested against turning the land into a state park, groups of volunteers from around the state helped them rebuild the dyke around the town—30 feet higher—and slowly rebuild the houses that were destroyed.

Citizens in Tick Bite and Grifton, NC, talk about how the flood brought them together into a family. Many residents in Tick Bite started a support group and met for three years for "flood talk." Both towns have received assistance as groups travel from the western part of the state to help rebuild. In Wilson and Trenton; residents who had little financially have been battling the legal system, while others, rich and poor, have been victims of federal buyout programs.

In Tarboro, the documentary revisits Tim and Piper Boyd, who received help not long after Hard Rain orignally aired in December 1999. While they have now moving into a new home, the Boyds received more bad news when Tim was diagnosed with throat cancer.

The towns of Snow Hill and Wallace, NC, bring the story to its conclusion, as a Mexican couple relates their experience after the flood when they decided to stay even after most of the migrant farm workers had left. In Wallace, an older hurrican victim relays the assistance some young adults have provided from Duplin County. Former governor Jim Hunt offers his own views on the rebuilding effort—reiterating how volunteer efforts have rebuilt most of eastern North Carolina.

"What's helped eastern North Carolina the most is the volunteers," he said. Voluntary labor certainly has been the main source of relief for eastern North Carolina; but much more work has yet to be done. Still, Higher Ground makes clear the capacity of people everywhere to travel somewhere and lend a hand, even when the kindness can't be repaid.

Hard Rain: A Look at the Aftermath of Hurricane Floyd