Wilmington, North Carolina, hit by over 30 cm of rain: photos, video

Parts of southeastern North Carolina were hit by life-threatening flash floods Monday as Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight brought rainfall amounts not seen in hundreds of years, weather officials said.

In the Wilmington area, more than 15 inches (380 mm) of rain fell in some places, along with gusty winds and power outages, while the cities of Carolina Beach, Boiling Springs Lakes and Southport saw more than a foot (30 cm) of rain in the first 12 hours of Monday – a weather event that occurs on average once every 200 years, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

The fact that more than 18 inches of rain fell on Carolina Beach in about 12 hours “only happens once every 1,000 years,” the office said in a statement.