Thousands without power, thousands remain in shelters in Pender County

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) –  Pender County tonight thousands remain in the dark and thousands staying in the shelters.

Many are still cut off in Pender County, but emergency officials say the situation is not as fatal as before.

“Some people might be land locked but not in jeopardy,” said Tom Collins.

With major road ways like I-40 completely closed off, supplies to Pender County are not easy to come by.

“Right now I think what people are, really it’s gasoline,” Collins said.

Collins  and his emergency operations crews are exhausted. They alongside the U.S. Coast Guard have rescued more than 300 people over 80 missions county wide. More than 1200 people remain in area shelters.

“It’s just the amount of rain that fell it’s just unreal. It really taxed our resources.”

Now Collins says first responders are getting somewhat of a break. Seventy-five percent of Four County Electric customers in the county are without power.

Collins expects that to not improve though as flood gauges upriver show the Black river to crest even higher come the middle of the week that ever before.

“Everything that flooded before during Matthew is going to flood again and that’s unfortunate.”

Collins says beach towns like Topsail and Surf City hope to see homeowners return before the weekend.

If you need assistance call the EM office at 910- 259-1210

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated area can begin applying for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362.

Disaster assistance applicants, who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362.

The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.