Power likely out for days
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on October 9, 2016 2:44 PM
Much of Wayne County remains flooded and one person has died after Hurricane Matthew dumped approximately 16 inches of rain on the local area overnight Saturday into Sunday morning.
At least 33,000 customers were without power, according to Duke Progress Energy and Tri-County Electric. Busiensses across the county are dark this morning, the owners of which have no idea when they will reopen.
And Wayne County Public Schools officials have decided to keep schools closed to both students and teachers Monday.
Residents in Goldsboro and the surrounding county woke up to downed trees and limbs, roads washed away or flooded over and dozens of abandoned cars littering the streets as motorists the night before attempted to brave standing waters and failed.
Goldsboro Fire Chief Gary Whaley said flash flooding caused the city fire department to conduct between 60 and 65 water rescues throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning during the peak of the storm. The number of county
Whaley said officials expect the Neuse River to crest at 26 feet.
Hurricane Matthew led to nearly 646,000 power outages in North and South Carolina, with 22,831 Wayne County residents affected, said Roz Dennett, Duke Energy spokesperson.
Customers could remain without power, potentially, for days, Dennett said.
"That's quite possible," Dennett said. "There was extensive damage, particularly in the eastern Carolinas. We're trying to move as quickly and safely as possible."
Duke Energy has 5,600 workers, tree crews and damage assessors combing the state, including in Wayne County, in an effort to restore electricity, Dennett said.
Tri-County Electric, which serves customers primarily in Wayne, Duplin and Lenoir counties, worked throughout the night Saturday following the worst of the storm in an effort to restore electricity, said Bob Kornegay, Tri-County's manager of marketing services.
"We've been working all night," Kornegay said Sunday morning. "It's been catastrophic. We were ready for it, but we didn't think it would be as catastrophic."
Electricity was restored for the majority of Tri-County Electric customers in Rosewood, Mount Olive and north Duplin County by Sunday afternoon.
During the height of the storm, the Tri-County Electric system experienced power loss to 10 of its substations, with the majority affected by power loss from a Duke Energy transmission line.
Close to 10,000 customers remained without power in areas near Fremont, Dudley, Mar Mac and LaGrange Sunday.
"I think we're looking at a day or so before we get everything back on," Kornegay said.