On a normal day, the Tar River has a sluggish flow and is shallow enough in some places to walk across without getting one's knees wet.

At times, however, the river can be a beast. Hurricanes, tropical storms or severe rainfall can send the Tar flowing over its banks, pushing unwelcome water down streets and into living rooms.

The most notable such instance was Hurricane Floyd eight years ago – an event that will be etched into Rocky Mount's collective memory forever.

On Thursday, Sept. 16, 1999, Floyd pummeled the Twin Counties, carrying with it excessive rainfall and bringing the Tar to abnormally high levels. The storm compounded the effects already caused by Hurricane Dennis, which hit the area almost two weeks earlier.

The river crested at 31.7 feet, nearly 26 feet above its level on a normal day that same year, and higher than after any hurricane in the previous decade.

The damage on land was catastrophic. Sixteen people were killed in the Twin Counties, 15,000 homes were damaged and 6,500 people were displaced in Edgecombe County.

The damage in Princeville was total. Nearly the entire town was under water for 10 days when water flowed over the town's dike, and the community has yet to fully recover.

It's one more reminder of how the Tar River touches the communities on its banks – often for better, but occasionally for worse.