The victims of Hurricane Florence

The real victims of Hurricane Florence in North Carolina

This was the main concern

Florence Could Hit North Carolina with Flood of Pig Manure

North Carolina is home to about 2,100 industrial pig farms, housing some nine million pigs, according to NBC. Those pigs produce millions of gallons of waste, which accumulates, untreated, in enormous waste ponds.

Three feet of rain could cause these waste ponds to overflow, drowning the eastern part of the state in a foul-smelling and very poisonous slurry. Included in the mix will be gasoline and diesel fuel, fertilizers, pesticides, and any other chemicals used on farms.

On top of that, there are some toxic waste dumps in the area. Duke Energy, the state electric utility, has more than two dozen massive storage pits holding coal ash, the toxic residue from their power plants. Coal ash contains heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, and lead.

All of these toxic substances could be swept across the countryside by the pig-sewage stew, poisoning everything it touches.