Hurricane Matthew’s disastrous turn over North Carolina lashed some areas with more than a foot of rain and left behind swelling rivers and streets like rivers throughout much of the region south and east of Raleigh. By Tuesday, emergency crews in trucks, boats and helicopters had rescued more than 2,000 people from houses, porches and rooftops. Here in Fair Bluff, they included James Thomas, 57, who cannot walk because of a spinal cord injury, but was hoisted into a boat by firefighters on Sunday.

The upheaval had a special sting here in a town that has tried, with no shortage of grit and heart, to remake itself in the face of economic shifts that have sucked the life out of so many other small towns. Now, Fair Bluff’s future looks even more challenging.

The extent of the damage here and in places like Lumberton, Fayetteville, Goldsboro and Pinetops sank in like a recurring bad dream on Tuesday after a storm that killed 17 people in the state and left commerce and daily life in some areas grinding to a halt.

“Certain parts of the state, we’re going through recovery at this point in time,” Gov. Pat McCrory said on Tuesday morning. “Certain parts of the state, we’re still going through ongoing floods. And now, we have other parts of the state that are about to deal with some very serious circumstances, especially along two of our major rivers.”