Brunswick County emergency management presents after‑action review after heavy, fast‑moving rain event; shelter and drainage gaps exposed

Emergency Management Director McIntyre presented an after‑action report to the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 2 summarizing the county's response to an unnamed, rapidly developing coastal rain event on Sept. 16, 2024, referred to in staff materials as PTC 8. McIntyre said the county’s initial response was “well coordinated” but that the event revealed “critical challenges” in shelter capacity, floodplain management and evacuation planning.

The presentation described the storm as a largely rain‑driven system that developed off the coast with limited advanced notice and produced local rainfall rates “Florence level per hour” in some areas, according to comments during the meeting. McIntyre said the Emergency Operations Center activated quickly, at one point staffing roughly 40–45 people and maintaining an initial activation for about 36 hours. He added that county partners, including the sheriff’s office and municipal fire departments, provided boats, aircraft and high‑water vehicles to support rescues.

McIntyre highlighted survey and outreach results gathered after the event: roughly 470 survey responses were returned; 94% of respondents were full‑time county residents; about 47% ranked PTC 8 among the three worst tropical events they had experienced; 58% said they were prepared to some degree and 90% reported life disruption such as power outages or road detours. McIntyre also noted only about 29% of respondents reported having flood insurance. He cautioned the board that the survey sample likely skews toward people who were aware of and completed a long questionnaire.

Key recommendations included standardizing public messaging (including pre‑scripted Everbridge/Everbridge‑style messages), expanding and refining evacuation zones to address freshwater flooding beyond coastal surge, improving WebEOC procedures, conducting tabletop evacuation and sheltering exercises, investing in more shallow‑draft and airboat rescue resources as needed, and pursuing state and federal funding for long‑term mitigation such as ditch clearing and culvert resizing.

In discussion after the presentation, commissioners and staff pressed for concrete next steps. One commissioner urged development of a county‑led stormwater/transportation task force including DOT, stormwater and soil‑and‑water staff to address recurring ditch and drainage problems. Another recommended a virtual joint information center to reduce inconsistent messaging across jurisdictions during fast‑moving events. McIntyre said the county is updating evacuation maps, exploring finer evacuation zone designations and working with the state on mitigation planning.

McIntyre closed by saying the county was resilient but vulnerable, and that many of the recommended actions will require cross‑departmental effort and new funding. The board directed staff to continue work on the improvement plan and to pursue the short‑ and long‑term actions outlined in the after‑action report.