NORTH CAROLINA — Ian hit the Carolinas on Friday afternoon after devastating large portions of the Florida peninsula. After making its second landfall Friday as a Category 1 hurricane near Georgetown, South Carolina, Ian pushed through North Carolina with heavy rains and gusty winds, downing trees and leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power.
Outage totals climbed well past 350,000 across the state in the wake of the storm, with most occurring in the more central areas of North Carolina.
"There's no power whatsoever, we have candles, but that's about it," Caroline Cottom of Guilford County told a Spectrum News 1 reporter Saturday morning, which was one of the most concentrated outages areas Saturday.
Guildford County resident Juana Tores was also still without electricity Saturday, but grateful that Ian didn't hit her harder.
"No good, but thank you, God for no problems with the family," she said.
Duke Energy crews were deployed all over the state working to clear debris and downed trees and power lines.
As of Wednesday morning, the majority of residents impacted across the Tar Heel state have seen their power restored.
If you ever find yourself without power and decide to crank up a generator, FEMA has provided the following safety tips to help keep you safe:
- Only use the generator outside and at least 20 feet from houses and garages
- Never plug a generator into a wall outlet or electrical panel
- Keep the exhaust pointed away from your home
Duke Energy outages can be tracked using the interactive map below.
Duke Energy Power Outage Map
"Ian has moved out of the area, leaving behind significant damage in some areas of the Carolinas. Our crews have begun making repairs, and later this afternoon we expect to have an estimate for when the majority of outages will be restored in your community," Duke Energy said on its website Saturday. "Crews will work to restore service as quickly and safely as possible, but downed trees and areas of flooding may hinder rapid progress early on."
For a full list of power providers, outages and more information on how you can report issues, click here.
Safety officials also urge caution if traveling on North Carolina roadways during mass power outages as they may also impact traffic signals. Click here to view traffic conditions and cameras in your area.
You can also click here to follow along with live updates from around the state as we continue to follow the aftermath of Ian.