Woman dies after tree falls on NC home

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A woman died on Thursday when a tree fell on her home, according to the Williamsburg Fire Department.

Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page says the incident on Clearwater Lane appears to be storm-related as Tropical Depression Debby rolls through the Piedmont Triad.

Page said the call reporting the tree falling came in around 7:30 p.m. The woman’s daughter called a neighbor to check on her mother, and the neighbor saw the tree on the house.

FOX8 is told the victim is a 78-year-old woman who lived in the home alone.

The storm is causing heavy rainfall and flooding. The National Hurricane Center says that the strongest winds are “likely occurring near the coast and just offshore of southern North Carolina.”

The center of Debby was over the central border between North and South Carolina early Thursday afternoon and will continue to move north through the southern and western Piedmont of North Carolina Thursday night.

A trailing surface front will hold over western and central North Carolina Friday through Saturday then slowly sweep east through the area Sunday into Monday.

There is also an isolated tornado threat in eastern North Carolina that could spread into the Piedmont on Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado threat is expected to persist into Thursday evening.

Heavy rainfalls of 4-6 inches are expected across the Piedmont Triad, and isolated amounts of rainfall as high as 8-9 inches could be possible in the western part of the region.

Across portions of southeastern North Carolina, the maximum storm total amount of rainfall could be as high as 15 inches with “considerable flooding” expected.

There are tens of thousands of power outages being reported in the Triad as a result of the storms, and roads have been closed due to flooding.

More than 1,000 Duke Energy workers in the Triad have been working since early Thursday morning, according to Duke Energy.

About 200 more arrived Thursday afternoon and will continue to arrive through the evening to help with the continued response to Debby.

This is a developing story.

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