Live updates on Ian's impact in Fayetteville: Mayor says city suffered no major damage
Making landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina, at 2:05 p.m. Friday, Hurricane Ian brought tropical-storm-force winds and heavy rain to Cumberland County, the National Weather Service said. The storm, now downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, also left more than 320,000 people without power throughout North Carolina, according to ReadyNC.gov, North Carolina Emergency Management's emergency preparedness website.
According to a White House news release, President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency for North Carolina Saturday morning, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, to help with disaster relief efforts.
"Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment, and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency," the release said.
Fort Bragg had seen about 3.1 inches of rain by 8 p.m. Friday, while Fayetteville recorded 3.06 inches and Hope Mills received 2.91 inches of rain, according to the most recent rainfall update by the National Weather Service. Winds reached up to 56 mph in Cumberland County, the service said.
Hurricane Ian:Ian arrives in the Carolinas, bringing wet, blustery conditions to the NC coast
11:49 a.m.: Cumberland County investigating Ian's impact, reports no major damage thus far
Cumberland County officials are investigating potential damage from Hurricane Ian but report only minimal damage as of Saturday morning, according to a news release.
"The most significant impacts to the County were downed trees and localized power outages," the release said.
Cumberland County saw a peak wind gust of 56 mph and rainfall totals between 2.7 and 4.54 inches, according to the release.
The storm will not impact the county's solid waste locations, and officials recommended "all yard waste and large clearing debris" be taken to the Wilkes Road Compost Facility, located at 771 Wilkes Road in Fayetteville, the release said. Any tree stumps bigger than four feet wide, painted or treated wood, paneling and plywood or particle board must be taken to the Ann Street Landfill at 698 Ann St. in Fayetteville.
"Smaller debris items will be accepted at any of the county's 17 container sites," the release said.
Residents can visit the county's website or call 910-321-6920 for more information, according to the release.
Officials also said the Smith Recreation Center shelter, intended to serve as a safe place for people to stay while the storm passed through the area, will close at noon.
-Lexi Solomon
11:35 a.m.: Mayor says Fayetteville suffered no major damage; PWC reports no remaining outages
The city of Fayetteville did not suffer significant damage from Hurricane Ian, Mayor Mitch Colvin said in a phone interview Saturday morning.
"About 30 people went into our shelter at Smith Rec, but no major damages or injuries, thank goodness," he said.
The city received just over 60 storm-related calls for service Friday night, according to Colvin. About 50 of the calls were related to downed trees or power lines, he said, and "a few" of the calls were reports of lost power.
As of 11:31 a.m., Fayetteville PWC's outage map recorded no remaining outages.
Ninety active outages in Cumberland County still left 966 Duke Energy customers without power as of 11:31 a.m., according to the company's website. Lumbee River EMC reported a slight increase in the number of its customers in the county facing outages, with 1.2% of its clients affected — about 247 people, the company's outage map said.
South River EMC remained at eight outages in Cumberland County as of 11:35 a.m., according to its website.
-Lexi Solomon
9:16 a.m.: Number of power outages in Cumberland County continuing to decrease
Power continues to be restored to residents in Cumberland County, according to power companies' outage maps.
Fayetteville PWC was reporting 13 active outages affecting 19 customers in the county as of 9:11 a.m., according to the company's outage map. Duke Energy customers, meanwhile, are facing 99 outages in Cumberland County, leaving 1,180 clients without power, the company's website said.
Lumbee River EMC reported 184 clients without power in Cumberland County, meaning no outages have been restored since the Observer's 6:52 a.m. power outage update, according to the company's outage map.
South River EMC is the only company to have seen an increase in power outages. Since the Observer's 6:52 a.m. update, when we previously reported the company had no power outages, South River EMC clients in Cumberland County now face four outages impacting eight customers, according to the company's website.
-Lexi Solomon
8:42 a.m.: Occasional wind gusts still possible, according to North Carolina Emergency Management
Fayetteville may see up to 25 mph gusts of wind until 6 a.m. Sunday, a Tweet from North Carolina Emergency Management said.
"The strongest wind gusts have subsided, but wind gusts 15-25 mph are possible through Saturday AM," the tweet said. "Gusty winds will taper off throughout the day."
The Fayetteville area is not expected to receive much rain over the next three days, with only 0.06 inches of additional rainfall projected through 6 a.m. Tuesday, according to North Carolina Emergency Management.
-Lexi Solomon
8:36 a.m.: Scattered showers this morning, with dry skies to follow, National Weather Service says
Cumberland County residents can expect "light scattered showers" Saturday morning as the remnants of Ian continue to weaken and cross into Virginia, according to the Twitter account for the National Weather Service station in Raleigh. Those showers will transition into a dry, cloudy afternoon, the service said.
Today's highs will be about 5 to 14 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year, with the service estimating that Fayetteville's expected high of 71 degrees will be about 7 degrees below average.
Fort Bragg has received about 4.6 inches of rain and reported a peak wind gust of 56 mph yesterday, according to an 8 a.m. report from North Carolina Emergency Management posted on its Twitter account.
-Lexi Solomon
7:10 a.m.: National Hurricane Center issues final update for Ian
In its final public advisory for Post-Tropical Cyclone Ian, the National Hurricane Center said the storm was about 30 miles south of Greensboro as of 5 a.m. with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1,001 mb.
"The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the north-northwest near 12 mph," the center said. "A turn toward the north with a decrease in forward speed is expected later today."
Ian's center should move north across central North Carolina and "reach south-central Virginia by this afternoon," according to the advisory.
The Weather Prediction Center will now take over any future updates on Ian, with that center's first public advisory anticipated at 11 a.m., the National Hurricane Center said.
-Lexi Solomon
6:52 a.m.: Power restored for majority of Cumberland County customers
Although more than 332,000 people in North Carolina are currently without power, the majority of Cumberland County now has working power, according to local electric companies' websites.
As of 6:43 a.m., 15 outages were affecting at least 31 PWC customers, according to the company's outage map. All outages appeared to have begun Friday; it was not clear when the company estimated they would be repaired.
"Crews have restored all major outages and will resume restoration efforts early Saturday morning," the company said in Friday's 8 p.m. storm update.
Duke Energy customers in the county are facing 105 outages affecting 1,480 customers, the company's outage map said. An estimated repair time was not available.
"Our crews have begun assessing damages and making repairs," the company's website said.
184 Lumbee River Electrical Management Corporation customers were without power as of 6:50 a.m., about 0.9% of the company's clientele in Cumberland County, according to its outage map. South River Electrical Management Corporation reported no outages in the county as of 6:51 a.m., the company's outage map said.
-Lexi Solomon
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Hurricane Ian's impact on Fayetteville, live updates
