President Trump pledges recovery help following Hurricane Isaias, Gov. Roy Cooper says
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Isaias made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane at Ocean Isle Beach in Brunswick County, North Carolina, at 11:10 p.m. Monday. By 6 a.m. Tuesday, the storm had moved into Virginia, having been in North Carolina for just under 7 hours.
As of 11 p.m. Isaias has become a post-tropical cyclone as strong tropical force winds will continue over New England for the next few hours. The cyclone is moving at 38 mph and has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.
Storm Damage across North Carolina
Isaias brought dangerous wind, heavy rain and storm surge to different areas from the coast all the way into central North Carolina. The town of Oak Island, which is near where Isaias made landfall, sustained significant damage, according to a social media post by town officials.
Tuesday afternoon, Oak Island residents were told to evacuate, and officials said no utilities would be available until Friday.
The National Guard was evacuating everyone off Oak Island on Tuesday afternoon.
ABC11's Josh Chapin spoke to Oak Island residents following the storm.
Rusty Newsome has lived on Oak Island for 12 years and made his granddaughter sleep in the bathtub overnight Monday because "it got really hairy."
"We stayed through many a number one or low number two and this was a whole lot stronger than a number one," said Newsome. "It was totally different from regular number ones we've been sitting through."
"We were blessed," said Newsome. "Our swimming pool filled up with a lot of trash and the yard and everything and we got 200 dollars worth of damage but we were blessed compared to the people here."
According to Gov. Roy Cooper the storm spawned multiple tornadoes. At least two people died from those tornadoes in Bertie County.
The heaviest rain recorded so far was around 5 inches in the Wilmington area. Isaias dropped between 1-3 inches all across the rest of central and eastern North Carolina.
In Ocean Isle, several homes caught fire shortly after Hurricane Isaias made landfall.
WATCH: Ocean Isle mayor discusses Isaias' landfall with ABC11
As of 1:50 p.m., there were more than 224,000 people in North Carolina without power. Click here for the latest on power outages.
The week ahead
The rest of Tuesday is looking beautiful, with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 80s.
For the rest of the week, temperatures stay in the upper 80s and there is a chance for scattered storms, because the same weather pattern that pushed Isaias out of our area will continue to funnel atmospheric disturbances across North Carolina, which could develop into pop up storms.
Drone video shows boats piled up at Southport Marina after Isaias
The only watches and warnings that remain are for flooding. Click here to view the latest weather advisories.
PHOTOS: Hurricane Isaias brings winds, rain to the Carolinas
MORE COVERAGE FROM THE COAST AND THE TRIANGLE
Stay up-to-date with the latest information on the storm by downloading the ABC11 app
State, federal officials respond to storm cleanup
In a news conference Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper said President Donald Trump pledged to send federal assistance for the storm clean up. Director of Emergency Management Mike Sprayberry said once local officials are able to complete disaster assessments, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be able to determine whether to issue a federal disaster declaration.
WATCH: Gov. Roy Cooper summarizes storm cleanup efforts
Sprayberry said 24 emergency shelters opened across the state Monday evening into Tuesday morning, housing 40 people. "Many people heeded the advice to stay with family or friends," Sprayberry said.
Overall, Cooper commended local officials and North Carolinians for taking the threat of the storm seriously.
"In North Carolina, we don't have the luxury of sitting back to see how hurricane season goes," Cooper said, particularly highlighting the work of the emergency management team as they prepped for a hurricane during a pandemic. "I'm thankful for their work and pray we don't need to see it in action again this year."
Cooper also urged residents and visitors to keep social distancing requirements in mind while helping neighbors clean up damage from the storm.
"Our state has recovered from some fierce storms over the year. As we pick up the pieces today, let's harness that spirit of recovery resilience that has gotten us through tough times before," Cooper said.
Cooper is scheduled to tour storm damage in Bertie County Wednesday morning.
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