Flooded Wilmington picking up pieces after Florence's devastation
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- Wilmington continues to try to pick up the pieces after Hurricane Florence dumped more than 23 inches of rainfall on the city.
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There is widespread flooding, hundreds of downed trees and power lines scattered throughout the city.
The cleanup has begun; more than 1,000 linemen with Duke Energy are working to restore power. Power was restored to several areas throughout the city, one main focus right now is getting power restored to the Wilmington Airport.
Duke Energy does have a "Sleep City" set up for the linemen to get some rest. There are dozens of trailers set up - each trailer holds 36 linemen.
Since many of the hotels are sold out in Wilmington, these trailers give the linemen a place to sleep after long hours of restoring power.
One major job for NC DOT crews is repairing this sinkhole heading out of Wilmington on I-40.
As for businesses, they are slowly starting to open back up as power is restored. A handful of grocery stores are open and gas stations and people are waiting in long lines to get food or gas.
Right now Wrightsville Beach is still closed. Town officials say they don't expect reentry for anyone until at least Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. They say the biggest obstacle is getting power to the island to run water and sewage.
The mayor of Wrightsville Beach said compared to other coastal towns, Wrightsville Beach has very minimal damage.
As for UNC Wilmington, the campus is still closed.
