It has now been more than two weeks since Tropical Depression Chantal dropped a record amount of rain on the western Triangle, leaving six dead, hundreds displaced, numerous businesses devastated, and tens of millions of dollars in overall damage.
In the last two weeks, we’ve seen countless small acts of heroism from residents who have gone above and beyond to help their neighbors – even, in some cases, while dealing with damage to their own homes. But the need remains great and the invisible human cost remains incalculable – particularly for businesses in the Eastgate Crossing shopping center and residents in the Camelot Village condominium community, both of which were built in floodplains. Town officials say there’s no amount of stormwater mitigation that can prevent those areas from flooding in the future, but that leaves Camelot residents and Eastgate businesses in a difficult position: staying in their current spot would mean similar disasters are likely in the future, but moving to a new location would be even costlier.
In that context, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck welcomed three local leaders for an extended discussion on Chantal and its aftermath: Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson, Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro CEO Aaron Nelson, and EmPOWERment Inc. executive director Delores Bailey.…