‘We mourn with the families.’ Ian kills 4 in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper says
Four people have died in North Carolina as a result of Hurricane Ian, including two in wrecks, a man who drowned and another who was poisoned by carbon monoxide, Gov. Roy Cooper said Saturday.
“We mourn with the families of those who have died and urge everyone to be cautious while cleaning up to avoid more deaths or injuries,” Cooper said in a statement.
According to Cooper’s office, those who died in storm incidents since Friday morning were:
▪ A 25-year-old man who lost control of his vehicle on Raleigh Road in Johnston County and hydroplaned into another vehicle “in stormy conditions.”
▪ A 24-year-old woman who hit a tree in Clayton after veering off a wet road Friday afternoon.
▪ A 22-year-old man who drowned in Martin County when his truck left a roadway and became submerged in a flooded swamp Friday night.
▪ A 65-year-old man who died in Johnston County of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator that was running in his closed garage while power in his home was out. His wife was hospitalized.
“During power outages, generators should always be used out of doors, and away from the home to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning,” Cooper said. “Gas or charcoal grills should never be used indoors, and cars should not be left running in a closed garage, for the same reasons.”
Cooper said “many hazards remain” across the state, including downed trees and power lines, and power outages.
At 1 p.m. Saturday, he said, about 210,000 people had no electricity. Outages peaked at about 418,000 just after 11 p.m. Friday, according to the governor’s office.
Ian’s strong winds and heavy rain left 12,000 Duke Energy customers in Charlotte without power Saturday morning, company officials said.
Charlotte area outages
At 7 a.m., several large outages were reported in north and northeast Charlotte, including off West Sugar Creek Road and Prosperity Church Road, and a miles-long stretch of the Statesville Road corridor from near the Interstate 77 Sunset Road exit south to well past the I-77/I-85 interchange, Duke Energy’s outage map showed.
Only scattered outages were reported elsewhere across the city, including 386 outages in Plaza Midwood and 297 near Eastway Drive and Independence Boulevard.
At 2:30 p.m., the company reported that 2,871 people were still without power in Charlotte.
Nearly 4,000 customers were without power in Cabarrus County and more than 3,200 in Rowan County at 7 a.m. Saturday, according to the map. Those were the only other counties in the Charlotte area with substantial outages. Trees fell on power lines Friday afternoon in the Rock Hill area, the Rock Hill Herald reported, leaving more than 1,000 customers in York, Chester, and Lancaster counties without electrical service.
At 2:30 p.m. Saturday, 1,460 Cabarrus residents still had no power and 2,356 in Rowan County, according to the Duke Energy map.
In a statement on its outage map Saturday morning, Duke Energy said conditions were improving and its crews ”will work to restore service as quickly as possible.”
Yet the company cautioned that “downed trees and areas of flooding may hinder rapid progress early on.”
Duke Energy blamed high winds and heavy rain for “widespread outages across the Carolinas” overnight. At 8 a.m., 299,432 Duke Energy customers were without power in the Carolinas, including 287,745 in North Carolina, the outage map showed. As of 6:30 a.m., 63,000 people in South Carolina had no electricity.
By 12:30 p.m., those numbers had dropped to 211,928 in North Carolina, the map showed.
EnergyUnited, the Statesville-based electric cooperative, said nearly 6,000 of its members were without power Saturday across its 19 counties.
Later Saturday morning, Duke Energy said repairs had begun and the company was completing a full damage assessment. The company expected to have an estimate later Saturday afternoon as to when most outages will be restored.
Ian brought down trees, power lines and poles across the state, Duke Energy said
Charlotte Douglas International Airport clocked its top gust at 46 mph at 7:06 p.m. Friday, according to meteorologist Ashley Pratt of the National Weather Service office in Greer, South Carolina.
Ian made landfall at 2:05 p.m. Friday , near Georgetown, South Carolina, with 85-mph winds, according to the National Hurricane Center. The system then was downgraded to a post-tropical storm before it began its inland march.
The National Weather Service had a flood advisory in effect until at least 9 p.m. Friday, but has since lifted the alert. Mecklenburg and surrounding counties also were under a tropical storm warning and a flood watch until Saturday morning. Both have been lifted, according to the National Weather Service.
Delays, cancellations at CLT airport
More than 300 flights were canceled Friday between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and airports in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, according to FlightAware.com, a flight-tracking site.
By 2:30 p.m. Saturday, 45 flights were canceled and 68 delayed at CLT, most of the cancellations involving flights between Charlotte and ones in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, the tracking site showed.
American, Delta, Southwest and United airlines and other carriers are letting passengers rebook without change fees if their flights are affected by Hurricane Ian.
American Airlines is the dominant carrier at CLT airport.
Anyone headed to CLT airport should allow extra time for dropping off or picking up passengers. The airport closed its upper-level roadway for two weeks Tuesday night so crews could begin work on a new canopy. Drivers should expect to see signs directing them to the lower level for arrivals and departures.
Charlotte forecast
The last of Ian’s rains cleared from the Charlotte area by 11 a.m., according to the NWS Charlotte forecast at noon Saturday. The day was expected to remain cloudy, with a high of 65, the forecast showed.
Sunday and Monday are predicted to be partly sunny, with respective highs of 66 and 65, according to the NWS.
The rest of the work week should remain sunny, with highs forecast to climb to 69 Tuesday, 74 Wednesday and 76 Thursday and Friday.
Storm closings
Ian postponed or canceled many events and closed government offices in the Charlotte region. Here are updates:
Mecklenburg County Solid Waste centers: Re-opened at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Mecklenburg County-run parks and sports: All weekend county-run sports activities are canceled. Gates closed at noon Friday at Freedom Park, Kirk Farm Fields and Revolution Park due to flood risk. All parks and facilities opened at 9 a.m. Saturday, except facilities scheduled to open at a later time. Some locations could have delays due to weather-related impacts. Synthetic fields opened at 9 a.m. Saturday but grass fields will remain closed through Sunday. McDowell campground is closed on Saturday and all Saturday nature center programming is canceled.
Carolina Renaissance Festival: The festival in north Mecklenburg will open on Sunday to kick off its 29th annual season. The festival was unable to open Saturday due to Ian. Oct. 1 ticket holders should check their email for information on full refunds.
Concord International Festival: The free festival is rescheduled for noon-6 p.m. Oct. 22 along Union Street and Cabarrus Avenue in downtown Concord.
Scarowinds: Tickets for the annual Halloween-themed event at Carowinds dated for Friday, Sept. 30, will be valid any day the park is open through Dec. 31.
North Carolina Zoo: Closed until Monday due to debris removal.
This story was originally published October 1, 2022 at 8:53 AM.