In August, Lena Geller wrote about a Chapel Hill couple who lost nearly everything in Tropical Storm Chantal. They are stuck in an increasingly common situation, Lena wrote: Their home is vulnerable to flooding, but unable to sell, they have nowhere else to go. Readers shared their reactions.
From reader Juli Bierwirt by email:
Good article and great reporting.
I thought there might be something valuable to add. As of just a few years ago it was not required to report prior flooding to prospective homebuyers. Just over a year (August 2024) ago that changed. We got stuck in that trap having purchased our home in Chapel Hill in 2022 and having it flood now in 2025. We found out the property had flooded before from a neighbor but we were not informed when we bought as it was not legally required. Not only did that increase the sale price when we purchased (relative to what we will now have to sell it for), but it left us unprepared to purchase flood insurance.
This is an issue for everyone in Chapel Hill with property that flooded, even if it was a relatively uncommon incident.
From Bluesky user hankyjg:
Great story. I grew up in this part of town. My 2¢ is that those apartments were built on existing impervious surfaces and require less additional road to access than nearby single-family homes, making each unit (to my mind) a good policy choice in terms of stormwater impacts per person housed.
Ideally we wouldn’t have built anything on that scale there to begin with, but because we did, I’m generally supportive of converting existing runoff creators into a bigger tax base to deal with impacts/stormwater project concessions.
From Bluesky user neilst:
This is an area near us. In America now, make one serious mistake and unless you have wealth or a needed skill you are done. Happily we are higher than them; and about the highest house on our street. FEMA, I think, has bought endangered houses and destroyed them; no more.
From Bluesky user galaxygaze:
Thank you for this story, I’m always horrified to read them but by shining a spotlight on climate disasters, I weirdly get a bit more hope about something being done to change our course 🙁
Jane Porter reported online (and on page 12 of this edition) about a proposed data storage facility in rural Wake County and neighbors’ concerns about pollution, noise, and the environmental repercussions of the massive facility.
From Bluesky user heidicatlady:
This is near me. Data centers are increasing as crypto and AI use up all our power. I hope the homeowners can show up tonight and put this bad idea down. Apex water comes from Jordan Lake. Jordan Lake has PFAS. The Haw River concentrations are greater near Pittsboro, this is a big problem.
Comment on this story at [email protected].