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Hurricane Florence could flood manure pits and industrial sites, creating witches’ brew of waste

Click to play video: 'Hurricane Florence: North Carolina residents bracing for a ‘direct hit’'
Hurricane Florence: North Carolina residents bracing for a ‘direct hit’
WATCH: Hurricane Florence: North Carolina residents bracing for a 'direct hit' – Sep 12, 2018

The heavy rain expected from Hurricane Florence could flood hog manure pits, coal ash dumps and other industrial sites in North Carolina, creating a noxious witches’ brew of waste.

The tainted water might wash into homes and threaten drinking water supplies.

Coverage of Hurricane Florence on Globalnews.ca:

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Computer models predict more than 3 feet of rain in the eastern part of the state, a fertile low-lying plain veined by brackish rivers with a propensity for escaping their banks.

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Longtime locals remembered when it happened before.

READ MORE: A Category 4 storm could devastate the East Coast, simulation shows. Florence is pushing Category 5

In September 1999, Hurricane Floyd came ashore near Cape Fear as a Category 2 storm that dumped about 2 feet of water on a region soaked days earlier by Hurricane Dennis.

The result was the worst natural disaster in state history. Dozens of people were killed and whole towns left underwater.

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