Michael brings wind, flooding to the Outer Banks

Published 7:53 am Saturday, October 13, 2018

: Water from Shallowbag Bay surged onto Sir Walter Raleigh Street in Manteo on Thursday night as Tropical Storm Michael moved off the coast. Photo by Angie Brady-Daniels

Tropical Storm Michael brought wind and water to the Outer Banks and North Carolina.

Across North Carolina, three storm-related deaths have been counted so far: two in McDowell County and one in Iredell County.

Local first responders report rescuing and evacuating nearly 100 people yesterday from flash floods in Guilford, Forsyth, Iredell, Henderson, Burke, McDowell and other counties.

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On Hatteras Island, Chicamacomico Banks Volunteer Fire Department and Avon Volunteer Fire Department responded to several incidents like helping stranded motorists and chasing floating propane tanks and turning them off.

Flooding on NC 12 in Rodanthe October 12, after Tropical Storm Michael.

Dare County Fire Marshal Steve Kovacs reports that all fire departments in the county responded to incidents. Some 80 calls were logged in. Kovacs estimates that another 40 or 50 were never logged in because firefighters simply did what was needed. Kovacs also thanks the staff with the North Carolina Forestry Service for assistance, particularly in Southern Shores.

Across North Carolina, 31 school systems closed Friday, including schools in Dare and Currituck counties. Thirty systems delayed opening, including Tyrrell and Hyde county schools by two hours.

Statewide, eight shelters opened for people who needed a safe place while Michael passed through North Carolina.

About 408,000 people in North Carolina are without power as of 1 p.m. Friday, with outages concentrated in the Piedmont Triad and counties.

Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative on Hatteras Island reported 100 member accounts without power during the storm. By mid-day Friday, Oct. 12, crews were working on the last outage. The cooperative has 7,742 member accounts.

: As Jeremy Bliven shows how high water rose in his Manteo shop in the Thursday night flooding he said, “I’ve had enough.” Four floods at his retail shop in 14 years has him looking to relocate to higher ground in Nags Head. Photo by G. Clark

: The old hotel on Budleigh Street in Manteo is surrounded by water as the tropical storm system moved through the area late Thursday. Photo by Angie Brady-Daniels

: Early Friday morning scene on Duck Road in front of Waterfront Shops and Tommy’s market. Water was coming under the buildings from the sound. Courtesy Marie Deal

: This rabbit sought refuge from the rising waters in Wanchese on a set of steps. Jason Chrismon photo

Tideland Electric Cooperative had a peak outage of 8,000 member accounts. As of 3:30 a.m., Friday, the cooperative reported an outage number of 1,400 members without power. In Dare County, outages affected Stumpy Point, East Lake, Mashoes and Manns Harbor.

Dominion Energy started restoration with 585,000 outages. By 11 a.m. Friday, 200,000 of those outages were fixed. The company was reporting on Friday that 1,293 customers out of 31,982 without power in Dare. In Currituck, 267 customers out of 18,141 were without power

State transportation officials report 301 closed roads due to fallen trees or washouts caused by Michael. More than 2,100 state transportation employees are working on response to Michael’s damage on state roads.

On Hatteras Island, during the flooding, NC 12 was impassable from Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to Avon. Just over two feet of flood waters from Pamlico Sound rapidly moved into Salvo and Rodanthe, flooding yards and NC 12.

When the winds shifted, Buxton and Hatteras village experienced slight flooding.

To prepare for the storm, Governor Cooper on Wednesday issued a State of Emergency and waived certain transportation rules.

He also activated 150 National Guard soldiers to preserve life and safety, clear roads and support communications and logistics. Those troops were deactivated Friday.

From 6 a.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday, the State Highway Patrol responded to 1,014 collisions and 2,017 calls for service.