The morning of Sept. 16 started out like any normal day for Max and April Sussman, the owners of locally based produce company The Veggie Wagon.

The forecast said rain was coming to the Wilmington and Carolina Beach areas because of what became named Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight, but it wasn’t something the Sussmans were worried about or put much thought into.

Schools were in session, and employees reported to work as usual.

Around 8:30 a.m., the Sussmans’ phones started ringing, alerting them to a little water in their Carolina Beach store at 608 Lake Park Boulevard S. By 10:30 a.m., the local fire department was rescuing their employees off the shop’s roof.

“There was almost 4 feet of water in our store,” said Max Sussman, co-owner of The Veggie Wagon. “We lost everything. I would be stunned if you can find anybody that was expecting it and was prepared for what happened. No one had any idea that there would be that much rain in that quick of a period of time. There’s not one person I’ve talked to in the town that was prepared for it or did anything about it.”

According to the National Weather Service, “Historic rainfall occurred across the Cape Fear Region of southeastern North Carolina on September 16, 2024. Gauges and automated radar estimates showed that 12 to 20 inches of rain fell in only two days, creating severe flash flooding affecting Carolina Beach, Southport, Bolivia, and Boiling Spring Lakes. Although this system never became a named tropical system, observed weather impacts including strong winds, heavy rain, and flash flooding were similar to tropical storms and hurricanes of the past.”

Once the storm had passed and the Sussmans had a chance to get to their Carolina Beach store to see the damage, it became evident that The Veggie Wagon’s beach location – the couple also owns another one on Masonboro Loop Road – would need to undergo an extensive renovation before it could serve customers again. In addition to water damage to the shop’s interior, their equipment was ruined, food wasn’t salvageable and the cash in their register was soaked. Looking at shops and businesses around them, they weren’t the only business tasked with rebuilding and extensive renovations.

It’s too soon to estimate how many businesses were impacted by the storm and how much it will cost to repair, but in contrast, Hurricane Florence caused nearly $450 million in damages when it raged through the area in September 2018.

One positive experience in the wake of the destructive flooding is the encouragement and help from the surrounding community. After asking for help to clear out his shop on social media, Max Sussman said he was surprised when more than 50 people showed up to help with their own gloves and cleaning supplies.

“The entire store has been cleaned,” Max Sussman said. “The community was amazingly supportive as far as showing up when we needed them. It was really moving. The first day, we had over 50 people show up, ranging from 4 to 5 years old all the way up to 60s and 70s.”

Together with volunteers, Max and April were able to get their store cleaned out in about two hours. Because there was water in the store, they worked quickly to stay one step ahead.

Compared to Hurricane Florence, the Sussmans agree Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight was “way worse,” partly due to having no prior inkling about the level of destruction it would impose.

“This by far was way worse because there was no prior knowledge,” Max Sussman said. “There was no idea that the flood would happen this significantly, so there’s no preparation. With Florence, there were certain things we were able to save and get out of the building.”

According to ArcGIS, Hurricane Florence dumped 23 inches of rain on Wilmington during the September 2018 storm. According to the National Weather Service, “River flooding developed over the next several days along the Cape Fear, Northeast Cape Fear, Lumber, and Waccamaw Rivers, destroying roads and damaging thousands of homes and businesses.”

In the aftermath of Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight, workers gutted The Veggie Wagon in Carolina Beach down to four walls, a roof and a ceiling. But despite the destruction, April Sussman said she is looking at a silver lining: They were planning to renovate the Carolina Beach shop eventually. Potential Tropical Cycle Eight just moved up their timeline.

“We’re in the process of building a new business, essentially,” April Sussman said. “When you get ready to open something like that, that’s exactly where I feel like we are right now. We’re in the design process, and we’re down to concrete.”

Their business employs about 10 to 12 people at a time, and among its various locations along the Carolina coast, all employees could be distributed among the other shops while repairs are being made.

“It’s all about how you approach it and how you look at it,” April Sussman said. “The bottom line is you can’t change what happened, and there’s nothing you could have done to make a different choice or decision. You have to figure out what the best possible outlook on it is and the best possible outlook is it gave us an opportunity to make some changes we were thinking of making anyway. That was going to be down the road in off-off season, January-February. It just came a little early this year, and that’s OK.”