248 pp., 52 b&w photos, 3 tables, 4 maps, index
    $19.95 paperback, $32.50 hardcover
     Add Cloth to cart
     Add Paper to cart

No North Carolina community was more devastated by Hurricane Floyd than the town of Princeville. With her town completely evacuated and her offices under more than twenty feet of water, Mayor Delia Perkins was faced with the challenge of bringing Princeville back from disaster. It was especially difficult for Delia, since floodwaters reached the ceiling in her own home. She was interviewed in her temporary office in Princeville in June 2002.

"All the residents had lost everything. But I think a majority of the citizens, though they were upset, most of them were able to still keep some sort of sanity. It was heartbreaking to think about people that had been living in these houses for quite a long time. To think that your house was gone, your furniture was gone, all of your pictures, everything was gone. If you didn't just have a really strong will, it was something that could make you or break you. It was a fine thread that kept some people from going completely over the edge. I think that their faith in God, and the spirit of the volunteers that came in, were two things that helped people cope."