New Bern officials detail cleanup after Hurricane Florence

Sept. 17--City of New Bern officials addressed local cleanup, volunteer and rescue efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence during a press conference Monday morning.

City Manager Mark Stephens said the city had suffered one of the most devastating storms in its 308 year history. He said more than 400 city staff members had been working to mitigate the impact of Hurricane Florence.

Stephens said preliminary assessments show more than 4,300 homes and 300 businesses were damaged or destroyed in the storm. Stephens said he expected that number to increase as residents and business owners return to the city and evaluate their properties.

City inspectors had begun a more detailed assessment of damages as of Sunday morning, said Stephens, who stressed that the process would take several weeks to complete. He said early damage estimates are in excess of $6 million.

"This is a significant setback at the hands of Mother Nature, but we will prevail," he said.

While New Bern may feel some impact as water from heavy rains to the west begin to flow back east, Stephens said most of those effects would be felt in other parts of the county. He said New Bern's citywide curfew expired at 7 a.m., Monday, through another curfew may be reinstated for areas that received significant damage.

President Donald Trump has signed a disaster declaration for North Carolina, which should speed up federal aid to the state, Stephens explained, as well as open avenues for individual assistance for local residents, businesses and nonprofits.

During the storm, emergency personnel from both New Bern Fire and Rescue and Police departments as well as swift water rescue teams and Parks and Recreation staff rescued more than 800 people from flooded homes in the New Bern area, according to Stephens. Local volunteers also risked their lives to save others during the storm, he said.

Staff and volunteer help also came from Greenville, Cary, Currituck, and Elizabeth City as well as from Boston and Houston to assist locally, said Stephens.

"Their efforts along with our city staff helped save many lives. Thus far we have no known fatalities as a result of the impact of the storm," said Stephens.

Staff and volunteers also worked to save the city's animals. Stephens said the New Bern Police Department activated its animal control officer to transport local pets to the Colonial Capital Humane Society throughout the storm.

Currently the police department is concentrating its efforts on areas that received the most damage during Hurricane Florence, said Stephens. He said thus far there have been no arrests in New Bern related to looting or criminal activity due to the storm.

Addressing the city's electrical system, Stephens said all of the city of New Bern's 22,300 customers had lost power during the storm. He said about 80 percent of the system had been restored by Monday morning, although areas remained where lines were too severely damaged to be repaired quickly. He said any electric wires on the ground should be considered dangerous and avoided by the public.

"We will continue to work until we receive 100 percent restoration and ask that those who still don't have service be patient," said Stephens. "If you are still without power we have not forgotten you."

According to Stephens, the maximum water height measured by city gauges in New Bern was 10.41 feet, topping Hurricane Irene's 7.5 to 8 feet in 2011. The city's water and sewer treatment services are functioning and are being normalized after the impact of Hurricane Florence, said Stephens. He said the only remaining water system issues were areas where service lines were pulled from the ground or broken. He said the problems had been isolated and posed no contamination threat to the city's water system.

Stephens said the sewer system experienced significant inundation during the storm, which required the city to take some systems offline. He said those services were coming back online and should be fully functional within the next few days for the 1,500 customers that were affected.

Stephens said staff had gotten most of the roadways in and around New Bern open, with the exception of streets that have downed trees and electric lines or where roadway structural failures have occurred. He said a contractor would be brought in to assist city staff with debris management and asked that residents place debris at the curb and not in the street. Construction trash should be separated from leaves and limbs, he stressed.

Discussing local volunteer efforts, Aldermen Sabrina Bengel said many local organizations were donating their time and supplies. She said there were "tractor trailer loads" of goods and services headed for the city. The PepsiCo Foundation had already donated $1 million to the relief effort, said Bengel, which will be split between the Salvation Army and the Red Cross. A total of 350,000 meals had also been promised through the Food For Life Program, she said.

"As we look forward to the days ahead, it's going to take every citizen coming together to help our neighbors," Bengel said.

Bengel said city staff were also in the process of coordinating relief efforts with Religious Community Services as well as with local churches. She said Scotty Murphy, RCS interim director, was coordinating the effort. Organizations that would like to send large quantities of food, clothing or other supplies should send them to the Amital building at 197 Bosch Blvd. in New Bern, from which it will be funneled to area distribution centers.

Anyone wishing to donate money can do so at continuetogive.com/florence relief, by texting 715-803-4772, or by messaging 485-2156.

"We're going to try to spread out supplies as best we can in the areas that need it the worst, understanding that our citizens in Woodrow, off of Oaks Road, are in desperate need. They have nothing at this point. Our citizens in Trent Court have been flooded and they need our help and assistance," said Bengel, who noted that many businesses downtown had also been impacted.

Bengel said Vincent Frazier with Discount Appliance and Home Repair had taken on a group of citizens who are repairing homes and clearing debris. She said he could be contacted at 252-617-6688.

"I have no doubt we will come back stronger than ever," said Bengel, fighting back tears, "because when people come to our community what they remark most about is our people. It's up to us and we're going to do it."

"This was an extraordinary event," she added, "but this is an extraordinary community."

Mayor Dana Outlaw thanked the city's employees for their efforts during the storm. He said many had sustained damage to their own homes.

"I can't begin to thank the staff of the city of New Bern for what they're doing and what they're going to continue to do," said Outlaw.

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