MOORE COUNTY, N.C. – Families in Moore County have power again after the blackout two Saturdays ago left thousands in the dark, but recovery continues as they begin to recoup their losses.
On Dec. 3, someone shot up two substations in Moore County and knocked out power to 45,000 customers, officials say. The power wasn’t fully restored until Dec. 7.
What You Need To Know
- Power has been restored to everyone impacted by the power outage in Moore County
- Many families lost hundreds of dollars’ worth of food
- The state is still looking into assistance available to anyone impacted by the localized disaster
It’s been one week since power was restored, but some residents, like Cori Owens, are still feeling the impacts when they look at their bank accounts. They say replacing food and making emergency purchases, like generators, all comes at a cost.
“I gotta do what I gotta do because I can’t tell my kids, 'well, we can’t eat tonight because the state refuses to help us.' And the sad part is there’s a lot of us out here in that same position,” Owens said.
Owens and her family lost hundreds of dollars in food that was purchased the day of the attack. She said because she doesn’t qualify for nutritional assistance, she’s been told to expect no aid or relief.
“Under normal circumstances, I’m able to get by without food stamps, and I’m thankful for that, but these are extenuating circumstances, and I think people like me need help,” Owens said.
Her family ended up moving some of their food to the garage in the hopes of keeping it colder there. But to no avail – anything perishable was lost, and she said there’s little money to replace it.
Gov. Roy Cooper visited the county again on Thursday and addressed the question of compensation for losses as a result of the attack on the substations. He said the government is still looking into state funding that can be utilized for this localized disaster, although he doubts anything can be done before Christmas.
“It’s really hard right now when people are right here at the holidays, and people have lost something that they thought they would have,” Cooper said. “We’re working with nonprofits to try to help people who are in that type of situation, we’re working with our Department of Health and Human Services to try to help with food insecurity and drawing down some SNAP benefits.”
Owens said her hope for compensation grows more and more faint with each day that passes.
“I figured if you were giving out help for the hurricane, definitely you have to be giving out help here, but then as the days went by, I’m like 'wait a minute, if they were actually gonna help us, they would’ve done it by now,'” Owens said.
It’s worth noting that Duke Energy has also made large donations to Moore County Emergency Management and local organizations that aid residents like the Red Cross and United Way.
“We’re not begrudging anybody help, especially if you already receive food stamps,” Owens said. “We’re not begrudging you any help, what we’re saying is that we’re hurting too.”