It’s been nearly a year since Tropical Storm Chantal dumped up to a foot of rain in parts of central North Carolina. The intense storm shuttered homes, businesses and even killed six people.
Since then, WRAL Investigates found that many municipalities hit hardest by the storm identified weaknesses with their alert and notification systems and flood monitoring abilities.
Despite a year’s worth of work, there is still more work to be done.
Here is the breakdown by county:
Orange County
“We were anticipating three, maybe as much as four inches of rain. That changed drastically in 30 minutes, and we received upwards of 10 inches in some parts of the county,” Kirby Saunders, Orange County’s emergency services director, told WRAL Investigates.
An October 2025 After-Action report for Orange County primarily found issues with flood monitoring capabilities, notification gaps, and coordination pitfalls.
“We’re working to purchase stream gauges so that flood stages can be monitored more accurately,” County spokesperson Wil Glenn told WRAL Investigates.
Saunders said the Eno River’s flood gauge, managed by the USGS, broke mid-storm. Now, the County is installing six additional gauges.
“We have cross-referenced our areas with the greatest risk of flooding and the least amount of monitoring to help determine locations. Locations and access agreements are being finalized now,” Saunders said.
He said the new gauges will form a network that can be connected to their alert program, OC Alerts.
“In addition, we have launched the Get Ready, Get Set, Go emergency notification system…We will send “GO” notices through the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) program – WEA is the same method that Amber Alerts, Extreme Weather, Blue Alerts, and Presidential Alerts during a national emergency are sent,” Saunders said.
The County is also expanding training for staff involved in emergency response and improving procedures to share information.
The county’s after-action report also noted weaknesses in training, shelter plans and coordination with other departments. Saunders said Orange County took more than 8,000 911 calls. More than 400 of them initially went unanswered.
The state’s IT department has upgraded 911 infrastructure to allow emergency centers to back each other up during disasters. It’s called Next Generation 911. That enhancement was already in the works before the storm.
Hillsborough
In March, FEMA issued an advisory notifying states that the agency plans to resume programming support, according to the Town website.
A spokesperson said they are renovating the Adron Thompson water/sewer facility to decrease the flood risk. That project is expected to be completed in 2028.
The town also updated its town code last August to allow for enforcement of water restrictions during emergencies.
The after-action report also noted the need for additional training for its staff.
Chapel Hill
The Town of Chapel Hill shared its “One Year After Chantal” report with WRAL Investigates. Based on that report, the focus for the Town appears to be securing federal reimbursements to cover at least $8 million in damage caused by the storm.
The report says the Town spent $700,000 on hotels.
As of July 1, 2026, eight of the 30 families that were displaced from public housing communities are still without their homes.
“Some families returned to their same units, while others moved into units in other Public Housing communities, and one family moved into our Transitional Housing program,” according to the report.
The demand for contractors and the extensive nature of the repairs have caused delays at South Estes.
“Comprehensive repair work is ongoing for those 19 units,” the report reads.
WRAL Investigates has covered the issues Camelot Village residents have faced in the months following the storm.
According to the report, at least 74 homes are still under construction.
“As with prior flooding events, many community members asked about a FEMA buyout of this flood-prone area. We’ve attempted a buyout at Camelot before, but we’ve not succeeded,” the report reads.
Unit owners are not on board with the idea.
In terms of businesses, 45 of them have reopened across Eastgate Cross Shopping Center, Mariakakis Plaza and University Place. Nine permanently closed; three operate as online storefronts now.
Damage to greenways totals at least $4 million in Chapel Hill. All of them have since reopened; now, the Town is working with an engineering firm to understand the scope and cost of permanent repairs.
WRAL Investigates did not receive the requested information from the City of Carrboro.
Durham County
WRAL Investigates received the requested information from the City of Durham, but not from Durham County.
Some city residents are still not able to live in their storm-damaged homes.
According to a City staff presentation at a May City Council work session, 64 total homes were impacted: 35 in the Old Farm neighborhood and 29 in the River Forest neighborhood.
City staff noted delays in assistance funding and pointed out that there is no coordinated system to guide residents.
Chatham County
Chatham County did not compile an official after-action report like Orange County. However, emergency operations director Mike Reitz said officials did identify areas for improvement.
Many of those include better connection with the Latino community, swift water rescue resources and an enhanced alert system.
Reitz said the County developed a flood reporting tool and plans to roll out a mass notification tool called “Alert Chatham” in the coming weeks.
He said they are also working to hire two new positions: emergency communications operations manager and emergency management logistics specialist.