Tomorrow marks one year since Hurricane Florence made landfall in the Carolinas.
There were more than 5,000 water rescues, including some in Spring Lake.
We spoke with some of the Fort Bragg firefighters who assisted with the rescues.
They train for water rescues and recovery missions at least once a month.
We spent the day with them during one of the recovery training operations at Mott Lake.
“Recover anything from vehicles, to people, to weapons, evidence, anything that needs to be recovered from underwater,” Lt. Mark Derrico said.
Derrico and fellow firefighter Matthew Davenport both helped with water rescues during Florence, and Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
“Trying to get somewhere is the hardest part,” Davenport said.
“You’re just trying to navigate, there are vehicles you can’t see under the water, you’re trying to navigate street signs, you can’t necessarily see,” Derrico said. “Of course it’s dark, there’s no power.”