As Tropical Storm Ophelia continues to travel up the East Coast, a dog in North Carolina was saved by a police officer after it was left tied to a fence amid the storm’s rising floodwaters and was “inches from drowning,” according to local law enforcement on Saturday.
Greenville Police Department (GPD) Officer Benjamin Schultz rescued the dog, a small pit bull, from the flooding off Dunbrook Drive in Greenville, which is roughly 90 miles inland in Pitt County. Greenville has been inundated with flooding brought by Ophelia, with videos posted to social media showing the extent of it throughout the city.
The video clip shared by the GPD on its Facebook page shows the dog had been tethered to a fence as floodwaters reached knee-deep levels. It also shows Schultz untying the dog and carrying it through the flood.
Ophelia began developing as a cyclone over the Atlantic Ocean earlier in the week, and is now forecast to bring a month’s worth of rain to parts of the Eastern United States. At approximately 6:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, the storm made landfall in North Carolina in the Emerald Isle region. In response to the storm’s powerful winds and heavy flooding, North Carolina declared a state of emergency, as did Maryland and Virginia.
Greenville, North Carolina Police Department
While referring to Schultz as a “real life hero” for wading into the floodwater to save the pooch, the GPD added in its Facebook post that the dog wouldn’t have survived if a “Good Samaritan” didn’t call to report the situation.
“Thank you to the Good Samaritan who called this in! Without you, he wouldn’t be alive,” the GPD wrote.
Meanwhile, the GPD told Newsweek in a Facebook message on Saturday that Schultz declined to do an interview, citing the ongoing investigation by the department’s Animal Protective Services unit.
Police added that the dog is now “safe from harm.”
“Fortunately, he was not injured thanks to the Good Samaritan’s quick actions to notify police,” the GPD told Newsweek. “Our Animal Protective Services Unit is conducting a follow up investigation to determine more about the dog’s condition and living situation at the home. They will pursue any applicable charges.”
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Ophelia brought sustained winds of around 70 miles per hour. Although the storm has since weakened, forecasters still urge people to be cautious.
Numerous roadways in Greenville were closed on Saturday due to flooding, the GPD wrote in a separate Facebook post, asking people to stay off the roads.
Videos shared to X, formerly Twitter, show flooding throughout the city.
In one clip shared by AccuWeather storm chaser Aaron Rigsby, vehicles can be seen partially submerged in a flooded parking lot.
“Major Flash Flood event ongoing in Greenville, NC,” Rigsby posted. “Multiple vehicles carried sizeable distance and whole parking lot of cars flooded #NCwx #Ophelia”
Ophelia’s current path shows the storm continuing across coastal North Carolina before passing through Virginia. It’s forecast to move over parts of Maryland and Delaware. Parts of New York and New Jersey are also expected to see heavy rainfall brought in by Ophelia. By Sunday evening, Ophelia is expected to pass over Southern New Jersey before moving back out to the Atlantic Ocean, according to the NHC.
Newsweek reached out via email on Saturday evening to the NWS Service for the latest update on Ophelia’s path and forecast.
