What causes flooding in Tarboro?
There are two main sources of flooding in Tarboro: flash floods caused by storm drainage systems overwhelmed by intense rains and overbank flooding caused by the Tar River, Hendricks Creek, Holly Creek, or the East Tarboro Canal overflowing its banks. Flash floods occur fairly often, as they are most frequently associated with severe thunderstorms and rain events, which quickly drop an extensive amount of water affecting small streams and storm drainage systems. The primary results of these flash-flooding events are flooding of roads, streams and low-lying areas. Overbank flooding occurs during prolonged rain events, which drop extensive rain over the entire river basin. An example of this kind of event is the flooding which came from Hurricane Floyd in September 1999. The more than twenty inches of rain caused the Tar River and all of the tributaries to spill over there banks causing massive damage.
