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New Bern is counting up the damage from Hurricane Florence. It’s at $100 million so far.
New Bern was devastated by Hurricane Florence.
When the storm howled through the city at the convergence of the Trent and Neuse rivers, it flooded homes, businesses and streets for days.
Hundreds were rescued from New Bern and Craven County shortly after the storm hit, The News & Observer reported. Many more would be rescued in the following days.
Swift-water rescue teams converged on New Bern to lend a hand and the city issued a 24-hour curfew to try to keep people safe.
Early estimates from the city showed “at least 4,325 homes and 300 businesses are damaged and railroad tracks have been washed away,” the N&O reported on Sept. 14.
But the extent of the damage is still being measured. On Friday, the city said initial damage assessments had been completed.
Florence wreaked $74.5 million in residential damages and another $25.6 million in commercial damage, the city said on Twitter.
It’s among the first announcements of damage estimates from a North Carolina community.
For now, New Bern is working to get essential services back online and volunteers are helping begin cleanup and recovery.
As of Sept. 20, 1,020 people still were without power in New Bern, the city said, but 96 percent of outages from the storm had been resolved.
“The remaining outages are at properties that were flooded or heavily damaged. Staff say we could stay at this number for the next 2 wks while repairs are made & work is inspected ahead of restoration,” the city wrote on Twitter.
Also on Thursday, the city said its water and sewer department was busy “getting the system back up and running. We only have one station down at this time….”
President Donald Trump and Gov. Roy Cooper were in the city passing out meals on Sept. 19.