For two days, Gastonia felt the effects of rain and wind from the former Hurricane Florence, but the overall impact of the storm was not severe. “The storm became more of a rain event with less wind than originally expected,” said Utilities Director Joe Albright. “Damage from fallen trees was minimal, which meant fewer-than-expected power outages.”
City Public Works Director Dale Denton added, “It proved to be a great team effort. The dedication of the City’s employees was on display, demonstrating the quality of our workforce.”
The USGS rain gauge at Duharts Creek recorded a total of 5.62 inches of rain from Friday night until Monday morning, Sept. 14-17.
- Gastonia Fire and Public Works responded when trees fell on homes Sunday on Edgemont Avenue and Jackson Street, causing damage and one minor injury to a woman in the home on Jackson Street.
- Fire, Police and Public Works responded when fallen trees temporarily blocked roadways Sunday on Farewell Drive, Maple Avenue, Sixth Avenue, Stevens Street, Westbrook Circle and Woodleigh Drive. No one was hurt.
- Fire and Public Works crews worked together to clear trees and branches from roadways and keep storm drains flowing.
- Public Works supervisors kept an eye on creek levels and storm drains throughout the weekend and say the drainage system worked properly.
- Police increased staffing over the weekend for its Traffic, Street Crimes and Community Policing units, and to answer additional telephone calls for service.
- 67 power outages were reported to Gastonia’s electric division with 5,921 City electric customers losing power. The average outage lasted 1.2 hours.
- Two Rivers Utilities’ water and wastewater treatment plants functioned properly throughout the storm. Backup generators were used at several TRU sewage lift stations in Cramerton because of Duke Power system outages.
- City Communications employees wrote four news releases, posted 157 messages on social media and responded to 22 questions from the public that were posted on Facebook or Twitter.
- Free Excess Household Trash pickup, originally scheduled for this week, is being extended through Sept. 24-25 for Monday and Tuesday customers.
- No yard waste will be collected this week (Sept. 17-21).
- The City is waiving its fee for yard waste in excess of 100 pounds during the weeks of Sept. 24 and Oct. 1.
- Today, four Gastonia firefighters were deployed to Wilmington via Army Chinook helicopter to spend seven days relieving fire crews in that city.
- Later today, four Gastonia firefighters are to return from five days assisting in Bladen County, North Carolina.
- City crews have spent today cleaning up streets, greenways, walking trails and public ball fields.
