Power restored for most residents, damage still a concern after severe weather in the Triangle

By Monica Casey, WRAL Durham reporter

Raleigh, N.C. — Since Friday thousands of Triangle residents have been dealing with power outages and damage in the aftermath of severe weather.

On Saturday morning, more than 40,000 people in the Raleigh area woke up without power. As of Saturday afternoon, the number of customers without power in the Raleigh area was down to just under 20,000.

Around 2,800 were still without power as of Sunday around 9 a.m.

By Sunday afternoon, only about 200 people were still facing outages in the Raleigh area.

Jeff Brooks with Duke Energy said the Triangle took a bigger hit from Friday’s storms than many may realize.

“This is very much like hurricane-level damage that we are seeing,” said Brooks.

The outages were widespread and not concentrated to one area in Wake County. For the most part, however, outages were in the southern portion of Wake County and north Raleigh was spared.

Brooks said crews first worked to quickly repair main lines, but this storm caused damage in many more areas.

Brooks told WRAL News Saturday that around 1,800 line workers were on the job in the triangle and more came in from surrounding areas.

“They are going to keep working until everybody is restored,” said Brooks.

People in one Cary neighborhood got power back Sunday afternoon, but storm damage is still an issue there

A tree on Lilly Atkins Road has been in the way since Friday, and it’s still a hazard.

Doug Pavone and his wife Michelle have lived in the Cary area for about eight years, but they said Friday’s storm was unusual.

“A lot of wind,” said Pavone “It came up out of nowhere.”

It brought down trees and took out the power.

“One big bang and everything went out,” said Pavone.

For this family, it wasn’t just the electricity they had to worry about.

“Being on a well, that takes a pump to get water into your system,” said Pavone. “So without power, we were without running water.”

They got power back around 3 p.m. Sunday, but their road could still be dangerous with pieces of that tree in the way.

“At night, people race through here and it’s super dark so it’s going to be a hazard,” said Pavone.

One street over, Hamdy Cash purchased a generator for his family.

“It’s a big expense up front to do it, but with three days out of power, it’s an investment that it’s worth it,” said Cash. “Especially having kids.”

The lights came back on for the Cash family Sunday afternoon as well.

“We did the happy dance in the living room,” said Cash.

Everyone told WRAL News about the trees swirling and blowing during Friday’s storm.

They said it’s become a fact of life that with this many trees in the area, the risk from storms is high.