2 dead, dozens injured, 300K+ lose power after Isaias hits North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - State officials say two people were killed, dozens of others were injured and more than 300,000 people lost power as Hurricane Isaias hit North Carolina.

Hurricane Isaias made landfall a little after 11 p.m. at Ocean Isle Beach Monday night.

The storm ripped ashore with 85 mile per hour winds and storm surge of three to five feet, leaving behind a trail of damage.

Several of North Carolina’s eastern counties were hit hard by the storm.

Damaging winds and likely tornadoes spun out from the storm, including one in Bertie County that tragically killed two people and sent about a dozen others to the hospital.

“Our thoughts are with their family and friends and with those who were hurt or had property damaged,” Gov. Roy Cooper said. “The span of damage, from inland Bertie homes to coastal communities, shows how these storms can destroy anything in their path. And that is why preparation is so important.”

Many communities in the southeast have closed off streets and set curfews. State parks in the southeast are also closed. Gov. Cooper asks residents to please stay away from damaged areas to allow disaster assessment teams to do their work.

Mike Sprayberry, director of Emergency Management, says more than 300,000 homes and businesses lost power during the hurricane. Sprayberry says the outages peaked at 7 a.m. Tuesday with roughly 375,000 outages.

As of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, there are a little over 172,000 homes without power. The governor says line workers have been out since early Tuesday morning working to get the lights back on.

The storm has now left the state. North Carolina Department of Transportation crews have been out all day clearing roadways and removing debris, the governor says.

Gov. Cooper says he has spoken with President Trump to update him on how the state fared. The governor says President Trump has pledged help, and state officials will continue to be in touch with FEMA and other federal government agencies as they calculate the state’s needs.

The governor says shelters housed evacuees safely at the height of the storm. Overnight there were 24 shelters open in the state.

“In North Carolina, we don’t have the luxury of sitting back to see how hurricane season goes. That’s especially true during a pandemic,” Gov. Cooper said.