NASHVILLE, N.C. — Mayor Kyle Pritchard of Spring Hope asked the Nash County Board of Commissioners Aug. 11 to endorse the creation of a Statewide Flash Flood Action Committee and to schedule a focused follow‑up meeting after a deadly flash‑flood event in his town.

Pritchard described a recent flash‑flood incident on Highway 581 North that claimed two lives and commended first responders for their work. He outlined a systems view of repetitive “cloud‑burst” flooding in small channels and said the problem is not simply local retention‑pond design but watershed‑scale runoff exacerbated by impervious upstream growth and fragmented responsibilities across municipalities, counties and state agencies.

The mayor proposed immediate steps that could be pursued with county assistance: deploying additional USGS and mapping sensors at local hot spots, integrating continuous monitoring with CodeRed or wireless road‑closure alerts, standing up a county/town incident data room and requesting prioritized DOT inspection of undersized culverts. He suggested the committee’s charge could include identifying priority hotspots within 60 days and recommending funding pathways via BRIC, HMGP and infrastructure programs.

County commissioners did not vote on a resolution during the meeting; instead, the board asked staff and the county manager to work with the mayor and schedule a return presentation to develop specific recommendations and a draft resolution of support. “We can do that as soon as possible,” the manager told Pritchard.

Why it matters: The mayor framed the request as a collaborative, watershed‑scale effort to reduce risk of future fatalities rather than a call for immediate county funding. Commissioners expressed willingness to work with municipal leaders and state agencies to coordinate monitoring and short‑term mitigation actions.

What’s next: County staff will coordinate with Spring Hope’s mayor to set a follow‑up meeting, where the mayor will present a fuller set of proposals and the board can consider a formal resolution of support or directed staff work.