As we ate dinner, they talked about the flooded city they had left behind. The Tar River, which at Greenville is normally about as wide as the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg, had spread several blocks up into downtown Greenville, they said. East Carolina has 18,000 students. Sarah and Brad estimated that 4,500 or 5,000 of them could have nowhere to go because their off-campus housing is either ruined or will require weeks to dry out and repair. Most of the displaced students are staying with friends, or have left Greenville for now.
Landlords apparently aren t doing much to help, so far.
Some are refunding a half-month s rent. Many students lost their cars, furniture, clothing, books and photographs. As Floyd approached Wednesday evening, some students went home to Raleigh, Charlotte or other places not expected to bear the brunt of the storm. Now, said Sarah, there will be nothing left of their belongings when they return to Greenville. Some of the students who chose to ride out the hurricane played in city streets filled with water as rain fell Wednesday night.