Tropical Storm Idalia left small impacts in Charlotte as it moved through eastern North Carolina on Wednesday evening. The storm has now reached the coast and slipped out into the Atlantic Ocean.
When Idalia reached the Carolinas, it had been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm. Despite the storm weakening, both states received significant rainfall and high winds.
Thursday morning, President Biden approved an emergency declaration for the state of South Carolina, which will authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to aid with disaster relief efforts in the state.
Before the storm, power provider Duke Energy prepared by having around 4,000 personnel members in place. According to Duke’s outage map, there are just over 13,000 Duke customers without power in North and South Carolina.
More than 60,000 customers in the Carolinas have had power 💡 restored from #idalia since yesterday. @DukeEnergy #tropicalstormidalia #hurricaneidalia https://t.co/u2TsFAsQUR.
— Logan Kureczka (@DE_LoganK) August 31, 2023
Though western North Carolina wasn’t battered, the eastern side of North Carolina saw more impacts. Many schools across South Carolina and eastern North Carolina, including Anson County, are in remote learning sessions or closed due to the impacts of the storm.
“Looks like we dodged a bullet, but we’ve still got some work to do to make sure the counties have what they need.”
— SC Emergency Management Division (@SCEMD) August 31, 2023
-SCEMD Director Kim Stenson addressing the South Carolina’s Emergency Response Team during this morning’s #Idalia shift change briefing. pic.twitter.com/mUJ8BAiMjM
