Recovery Starts as Hurricane Florence Slams into the Carolinas

Hurricane Florence slammed into the Carolina coast early Friday morning and there are already reports of extensive damage from the storm surge and high winds. Power outages, flooding and other damage will impact many water and wastewater systems and states are already starting their recovery efforts. North Carolina is in the midst of its emergency response efforts, as well as South Carolina. Response and recovery will take a while in the Carolinas, and Florence is expected to turn over the weekend and head northeast, impacting Kentucky, West Virginia and southern Ohio on Monday, and the balance of the Northeast on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This is a big storm and many organizations, in addition to local, state, and federal agencies, are pitching in to help with the response and recover efforts. AWWA’s Water and Wastewater Response Network (WARN) posted a comprehensive situation report on Sept. 13th, and Anheuser-Busch changed the production of a brewery in Georgia to provide canned water to the Carolinas.