PENDER COUNTY: Some riding out Hurricane Dorian in Surf City

Mandatory order had many residents and visitors leaving by noon Wednesday with the storm drawing closer

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2 p.m. update: Some stay put in Surf City

More than a dozen people will hunker down in a house on the inlet in Surf City through Hurricane Dorian — and they are ready for anything.

Tony Deluca arrived to the condo complex after Hurricane Florence and his work crew has worked for the last year to repair many of the units. He and his family, his work crew and the family of his friend James Miller all plan on staying. The group has two generators for two different floors, a giant pig smoker and enough gasoline to last several days.

Deluca said he didn’t want to join others heeding the town’s mandatory evacuation and leave for two reasons: one, he went through dozens of hurricanes in Florida and two, he said as a contractor there is work to be done directly after a hurricane.

He and his team are still repairing units and they want to be nearby for immediate fixes.

“We’ve moved all our material and spent the last year building everything up,” Deluca said. “After this storm I guess we’ll just build it all back.”

1 p.m. update: Surf City bridge open — for now

Despite a mandatory evacuation for Surf City, residents are allowed to take the Surf City bridge until 8 p.m. After that time, no one will be permitted on the island.

That’s according to a Facebook post from Pender County Emergency Management, who has received calls about the bridge.

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Bridges across North Carolina will close when winds are sustained at 45 mph.

11:30 a.m. update: Leaving Surf City

The last remaining residents and visitors are trickling out of Surf City Wednesday following a mandatory evacuation order for noon with the threat of Hurricane Dorian.

Surf City, per hurricane protocol, has announced the town also will shut down all water and sewer operations at noon.

The shut off will affect those on the island as well as anyone east of JH Batts Road. A few inland areas will have utilities cutoff as well including Atkinson Point Road, Sea Manor, Little Kinston, Driftwood Drive, Spot Lane and the Tropical Winds subdivision.

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“Water and sewer services must be shut down in order to protect infrastructure due to staff not being able to respond to issues when they arise,” a release from the Town of Surf City states. “A shutdown is also needed to ensure the system is not contaminated when systems are restored.”

10 a.m. update: Traffic problems

While there’s typically some backups on U.S. 17 in Pender County during the morning commute, a small accident combined with people leaving the area due to Hurricane Dorian added to the traffic headaches Wednesday.

Traffic was backed up from N.C. 210 to Country Club Road.

Several businesses along the road also began boarding up, such as the Dollar Tree.