Several state parks across central North Carolina remain closed due to the flooding damage caused by Tropical Depression Chantal and continued rain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flooding from Sunday’s storms and the days of rain that followed left poor conditions at parks from Kerr Lake to the Lumber River.<\/p>\n
At Jordan Lake, state parks officials are warning people that some areas are dangerous because of the impact of the storm.\u00a0According to ncparks.gov, several Jordan Lake facilities are closed due to flooding, including boat ramps and swim beaches at Parkers Creek, Ebenezer Church and Seaforth accesses. Several campsites are also closed.<\/p>\n
Jordan Lake is about 13 feet above its usual water level, according to park officials, and several other state parks are either shut down or partially closed due to high water levels and storm damage.<\/p>\n
Brian Strong, director of North Carolina State Parks, said the state plans to reopen most of the parks next week, but water levels have to recede before crews can begin to clean up piles of debris that make it dangerous for people to go out on the water.<\/p>\n
“You don’t know\u00a0what’s under\u00a0there, so really be safe when you’re out there, especially if the water remains murky for a while,” Strong said. “You can’t see the bottom.\u00a0When you go down, you really have to be careful about what’s there, what’s not there and what’s been moved around.”<\/p>\n