Effects of Hurricane Florence: Utilities seeing damage, reporting issues after storm

While Hurricane Florence made landfall early Friday morning, the effects of the storm are expected to be felt for days.

In addition to damage sustained by thousands of homes, utility companies have reported damage, outages and other issues that could effect the public. WECT will continue to update this list as information becomes available

CFPUA

The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority reported Friday afternoon that two generators at the Southside Water Treatment Plant had failed. The failure resulted in the discharge of partially-treated wastewater into the Cape Fear River.

“It is an ongoing event. We have contacted the equipment representative for an emergency repair,” the utility said in a release. “They will be on site to make the needed repairs as soon as possible.”

CFPUA announced earlier in the day Friday that it wanted people to report outages and low-flow conditions to its emergency hotline, (910) 332-6565.

Duke Energy

As of 3 p.m., Duke Energy was reporting nearly 189,000 customers without power in southeast North Carolina.

• New Hanover County: 114,652 (90 percent)
• Brunswick County: 14,825 (98.7 percent)
• Pender County: 15,407 (88.5 percent)
• Columbus County: 16,441 (99.3 percent)
• Bladen County: 8,826 (99.2 percent)
• Onslow County: 18,588 (74.2 percent)

Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation

BEMC reported that as of 1:33 p.m. Friday, more than 66,000 customers without power.

“BEMC crews and additional support crews have been staged overnight in local communities,” BEMC spokesperson Heather Holbrook said in a release. “We are now waiting for the green light to begin restoration efforts. Safety is our priority, so we must hold in place until winds have slowed to 30 miles per hour.”

Four County Electric Membership Corporation

• Pender County: 8,948 (99.9 percent)
• Columbus County: 877 (100 percent)
• Bladen County: 6,841 (63.3 percent)
• Onslow County: 96 (100 percent)