"I was not prepared at all for this. No way. Not to stay outside all day burning fire to stay warm versus staying warm inside my house," she continued.
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Inside her home, McKeithen is like many around Moore County. She's in the dark, cold, and lost hundreds of dollars in groceries.
"This is all I have. I have no other option. Going to a hotel is not an option for me," McKeithen continued.
While some parts of the county are seeing power fully restored, McKeithen has not. Her lights were back on briefly Tuesday afternoon, then off again. Tuesday night she was back in the dark.
So are families in Southern Pines.
"We were just sitting at home and it went dark," said Janie Spicer.
She was near Downtown Southern Pines with her family. They were on a walk to pass the time. "We thought it would be fixed pretty quickly but it wasn't," Spicer said.
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It could be another full day before power is restored to nearly 35,000 customers in Moore County
For mothers like Brittany Graham, she couldn't wait another day. So, she packed up her three kids and made her way to Moore County's Emergency Shelter
"The two nights before that we had been staying home and I'm like, you know what? We've been eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the kids have been out, I haven't been able to work," Graham explained.
Graham, who is from Aberdeen said she knew at that point she had to make her way to the emergency shelter. " I'm like, I gotta do something. Like, my kids are sitting here freezing. I'm like, You know what? We're going "
And they have been at the shelter since with a place to shower and a warm meal. Also, some peace of mind but Graham is concerned about what happens when she leaves the shelter. The impact could be just as widespread as the power outage.
"We didn't do anything to deserve this. And now we're going through all this. People with kids, elderly people that need oxygen every. This ain't right. It's not," Graham