With All Power Cut, Tens of Thousands Flee N.C. Outer Banks Islands

[riversedge]

Source: nbc






Jul 31 2017, 10:18 am ET

by Alex Johnson

The news for tens of thousands of people forced to evacuate two Outer Banks islands of North Carolina got worse Sunday: Authorities said all that three power lines to the remote islands had been damaged and that electricity could be out of commission for as long as two weeks.

The Outer Banks — a string of barrier islands spanning most of the North Carolina coast — are served by three underground power cables from the mainland. On Thursday, a construction company building a new bridge over Oregon Inlet to one of the islands accidentally drove a steel casing into a power cable, the Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative said in a statement Sunday.

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One of the cables was completely severed, and the two others were "compromised," the cooperative said.

Since then, about 70,000 visitors and vacationers have evacuated Hatteras and Ocracoke islands under two mandatory orders issued by Gov. Roy Cooper. Most were able to drive off Hatteras Island, which is served by the only major bridge to the islands, while the rest have slowly made their way off Ocracoke by ferry.

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While the mandatory orders didn't apply to the few thousand year-round residents of the islands, who can rely on generators, business and government officials lamented the loss of tens of thousands of vacationers at the height of the summer tourist season. ................................





Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/all-power-cut-tens-thousands-flee-north-carolina-outer-banks-n787971

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[underpants]

1. Damn I'll bet there are some PO'ed vacationers

OBX is THE beach destination for Richmond and points east (Va. Beach is mostly out of staters) and beach week is a big deal around here.

That really sucks for them. If they didn't buy insurance on their rental I wonder if they can sue the construction company that screwed up.

[jberryhill]

3. Even if they did have insurance....

The insurers are going to be going after the construction company's insurers.

[R Merm]

5. The news is reporting that since it is not caused by a

natural disaster, the renters insurance may not kick in.

http://wncn.com/2017/07/28/your-rights-as-a-vacationer-on-the-outer-banks/

[underpants]

8. Double damn!

[cbdo2007]

7. Much of OBX is still open, just not Hatteras Island or Ocrecoke.

Not that that is not significant but the most heavily populated areas are ok....though I'm sure traffic is even worse with all of these people with no place to go.

We were just out there for vacation a few weeks ago. Only spent one day down on Hatteras island and it was beautiful but our rental was up in Nags Head.

[underpants]

9. Thanks. 3 more weeks

And we're Myrtle Beach bound. Can't wait.

[jberryhill]

2. That's an economic disaster

Wow.

[still_one]

4. Out here in California PG&E advertises that all the time

[jberryhill]

6. "Cut Outer Banks power cable was marked in bridge work plan"

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article164348682.html

“Our subterranean cable is marked,” Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative (CHEC) spokeswoman Laura Ertle said Saturday. “It’s not marked on the land. But in their work plans, it’s marked.”

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That was a 115kV line. Must have been quite a fireworks show at the construction site, at the grid control room and at the generating stations when that much load disappeared - like what your legs do when the chain falls off your bicycle.

[still_one]

10. Doesn't do much good on the work plans though f they don't mark it outside. Still they should have

Checked

Glad it wasn't high voltage though

[jberryhill]

11. "Glad it wasn't high voltage"

115 kV - that's kilovolts

[still_one]

12. Didn't see the kV. oops. Geez, I wonder if that is what they said?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

14. To supply a pair of large islands, that's not unreasonable.

A series of transformers on the islands would step it down to 240v and 120v.

[NutmegYankee]

17. Hell, it's not uncommon to have the lines along the road at 4000 volts.

The local pole mounted transformer does the step down for nearby houses.

[uppityperson]

13. Oops

[Nac Mac Feegle]

15. I work for a major utility company

The background on my work computer is a photo of a volcanic eruption with the Northern Lights in the background and a lot of pyroclastic lightning (earth to ground bolts, caused by static electricity).

The caption is: Next time, call before you dig

I'd upload it, but I don't have a Photobucket account.

[RussBLib]

16. poor suckers

they are planning a second bridge to south padre island in south texas, but the new route goes far, far away from the current bridge (and electric cables).

all the more reason to get some solar panels, too