In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, Avent Ferry Complex (AFC) and Western Manor Apartments have lost electrical power, affecting approximately 600 students in AFC. Students living there have been forced to move out until power is restored; residents in the Tri-Towers have also experienced flooding and water damage in their rooms.
The power outage occurred on Saturday between noon and 1 p.m., according to Duke Energy.
“It’s affected heating and lighting,” said Caison Mankin, a sophomore studying engineering and community assistant at AFC’s 24-hour service desk. “We have limited Wi-Fi. We can’t scan into our key card access into the building, so we’re locked out unless there’s a door propped open somewhere.”
The primary outage stretched down Avent Ferry Road, affecting the Mission Valley Shopping Center as well as impacting around 1,015 people. NC State provided several options for the students in AFC.
“An option is to stay with a friend,” Mankin said. “Some people that live close enough are going home or the university is locating them to other University Housing options. They are making arrangements to move people because we have enough open spaces.”
Students have been offered temporary residence in Wood Hall, the Quad, Tri-Towers and Bragaw while Duke Energy repairs power lines. Graham Whitehouse, a sophomore studying biomedical engineering and resident of Carroll Hall, was one of those affected.
“I got back from the football game Friday night, and we didn’t have an issue,” Whitehouse said. “We left Saturday morning, and there was nothing leaking. Around 6 p.m. water had gotten in through the window and leaked all over the floor. We had to move the desk, the drawers and the little cabinet because the carpet was soaked.”
University Housing has assisted students affected by water damage in the Tri-Towers in order of severity, according to Whitehouse. Whitehouse expressed annoyance with the little warning that University Housing had provided him with regards to the extent of water damage.
“I’m pretty frustrated with it, mostly because we didn’t hear any warning,” Whitehouse said. “Maybe our RA would tell us to be prepared to cover for that because we had water get all over our router; we had an Xbox and a monitor that it got all over. They should have been prepared for this to happen if they had any previous knowledge of this happening.”
Outside of NC State, Hurricane Matthews has wreaked massive destruction across North Carolina. In Raleigh, five inches of rain fell, while up to 16 inches were measured in other parts of North Carolina.
There have been approximately 1,000 water rescues and six missing persons, according to The News & Observer. Approximately nine deaths occurred in North Carolina, accounting for nearly half of the deaths caused by the hurricane throughout the United States.
Although Duke Energy is currently repairing downed power service, 434,500 North Carolinian Duke Energy Customers are still without power, with approximately 83,000 of those residing in Wake County.
“This is going to be a prolonged event,” said Gov. Pat McCrory in a news conference Sunday afternoon. “The impact of Hurricane Matthew is still here and extremely dangerous in North Carolina. Rocky Mount, Goldsboro, Kinston, Greenville — every town in between. We will have very serious issues.”
Seeking assistance from the federal government, McCrory plans to request an expedited major disaster declaration. The funds received from such a declaration would allow the state government to provide grants for those without flood insurance, as well as aid for local governments attempting to repair streets and bridges in the aftermath of the hurricane.
Students climb on top of a tree that was uprooted as a result of Hurricane Matthew.
