After the flood.

It's been six months since Hurricane Matthew menaced eastern North Carolina, the latest in a long list of storms. But where Fran and Floyd went before, small towns talk this time of pulling up stakes. Even in larger cities, entire neighborhoods where homes and businesses once stood remain abandoned. These are places where poverty rates are among the highest in the state after weathering economic tsunamis caused by tobacco's decline and the migration of textiles and other manufacturing. About $500 million in aid, along with massive private donations, helps. Are they enough to turn the tide?

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CINDY BURNHAM

Caption: The Meuse River flooded its banks after Hurricane Matthew dumped rain across eastern North Carolina in October.

MATTHEWS MARK

TO GAUGE THE STORM'S IMPACT IN OCTOBER IS TO REWIND TO SEPTEMBER.

Before Matthew's devastating deluge, monthly rainfalls in September were double to quadruple the norm across a swath of the state: Fayetteville set a one-day rainfall record of 5 inches on Sept. 29, then 10 days later Matthew dumped 14 inches.

Between Oct. 7-9, U.S. Geological Survey stream gauges captured 23 record peaks. Pair these gauges, the diamonds shown below, with the yellow circles representing high-water marks measured from Richmond County to the Outer Banks. Then, add in a factor that's not shown on the map--the depth and width of a river channel--and you can understand, for example, what happened in neighboring Johnston and Wayne counties. Both recorded September rainfall far above normal. Both show a cluster of white diamonds and yellow circles. But Swift Creek near Clayton peaked at 21 feet on Oct. 9, 6 feet above flood stage, while the Neuse River near lower-lying Goldsboro peaked at almost 30 feet, 12 feet above flood stage, three days later. Wayne is one of Matthew's worst victims.

Hurricane Matthew has been compared with another record storm, Floyd. The hurricane in 1999 still stands as the state's costliest storm--Matthew is No. 4--and holds the record of 24 inches for heaviest rainfall at a single location. For Floyd's flash, Matthew's legacy may be more insidious: Its far-reaching tentacles threaten to be the tipping point in communities already on the brink.

Caption: SEPTEMBER 2016: In the month leading up to Hurrican Matthew, North Carolina Had been deluged with rain.

STREAM FLOW

How much water was flowing in N.C.'s rivers, streams and creeks? The state hit 23 peaks during Matthew.

HIGH WATER

Water rose in...