K0662_Audio_1 |
Previous | 1 of 5 | Next |
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
|
Object Description
Interview no. | K-0662 |
Restrictions | No restrictions. Open to research. |
Project | K.2.13. Southern Communities: Listening for a Change: Voices after the Deluge, the Great North Carolina Flood |
Project description | Interviews, 1999-2003, with flood victims, rescue workers, relief workers, ministers, farmers, farm workers, small-business owners, environmental monitors, and political leaders in eastern North Carolina about the devastating flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Topics include the toll of the flood on human lives; disruptions to community and sense of place; political response to the disaster at local, state, and national levels; public health and environmental issues; the effect of the disaster on the region's most vulnerable residents; and the experiences of relief workers. Some interviewees offer parallels between the hurricane and other tragedies, particularly 9/11. |
Date | 14 January 2000 |
Interviewee | Harvell, Clifton H. |
Interviewee occupation |
Construction workers Business owners |
Interviewee DOB | Unknown |
Interviewee ethnicity | Unidentified |
Interviewer | Thompson, Charles Dillard, 1956- |
Abstract | Mr. Clifton Harvell was hired by the United Methodist Church to set up and navigate the church’s response to the Hurricane Floyd floods in Pitt, Beaufort, and Hyde Counties, N.C. Before, Harvell had worked for the fisheries department in North Carolina and had also been involved in the sale and management of industrial tools and materials. As such, he was well-suited for the job having a thorough knowledge of the area, of the environment, and what needed to be done. Most of his job was spent organizing the numerous volunteer groups that came from all over the state and the country and in organizing the materials needed. Much of the interview is spent with Harvell driving around Grifton, N.C., showing the interviewer the destruction while talking about what needs to be done and answering his questions. Discussed is how the flood was unexpected because that area had not flooded for 500 years and how that could lead to changes in managing the land to prevent future flooding. Harvell also discusses the different reactions people had to the floods and what to do next. Some could afford to leave with what FEMA gave them, some can’t. Some have nowhere to go, and those who had decided to stay are now afraid every time it rains. Throughout it all, he says that his mission of wanting to help people has never changed and that he is extremely proud of the fact that so many people want to help, often citing God’s work as the reason for this. Despite his optimism and the hope of everyone around him, he fears that the area will never recover to its pre-flood days, as many people did decide to leave and the economy was changing anyway. |
Citation | Interview with Clifton H. Harvell by Charles Dillard Thompson, 14 January 2000 K-0662, in the Southern Oral History Program Collection #4007, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Description
Interview no. | K0662_Audio_1 |