Pantego, NC – Tideland EMC, with offices in Ocracoke, Engelhard, Pantego and Grantsboro, continues to be impacted by Hurricane Florence. As of 5:00 o’clock this morning, 77 percent of Tideland EMC’s system is without power.

Here’s a rundown by county:

Beaufort County: 8,379
Pamlico County: 4,515
Craven County: 2,742
Hyde County: 1,888
Washington County: 120
Dare County: no outages reported

At this time, there are no areas of Tideland’s service territory deemed safe for work. Forecasts suggest winds may not sufficiently subside to resume work until Saturday morning with the exception of the northernmost areas north of the Pamlico River. Hurricane Florence made landfall at Wrightsville Beach at 7:30 a.m. The next high tide is 11 a.m.

The hardest hit areas of Tideland territory are likely facing power restoration efforts lasting more than a week. Residents should take that into account if they evacuated the area before deciding to return home. Once damage assessments can safely be conducted Tideland will have a much better idea of what lies ahead to fully restore power.

Downed power lines should be considered energized. Even if utility power is off, privately owned generators can re-energize power lines if they backfeed due to lack of a properly installed transfer switch.

Tideland members should report new power outages by calling 1-800-882-1001. The public may track power restoration progress via the cooperative’s website, www.tidelandemc.com, which includes a link to Tideland’s outage map and social media accounts. Tideland EMC, an equal opportunity service provider and employer, is a member-owned distribution cooperative serving 23,000 accounts in Hyde, Beaufort, Pamlico, Dare, Washington and Craven counties.