North Carolina Slowly Recovers in Irenes Wake

Hurricane Irene came and went on a eastern United States, but a slow-moving storm has left a lingering mess in some coastal areas. It has been 10 days since Hurricane Irene passed through North Carolina. For people in a southern state, cleaning up in a wake of Irenewhich brought losses to business and major repairs to cropsrequires round-the-clock hard work and resilient effort. Mike Howe, owner of Blue Whale, a gas station and small market on Hatteras Island, N.C., was busy cleaning up his shop while he gave a phone interview. About three inches of water flooded a store. Right now we are removing a bad parts of a floor. Howe said. Fortunately, water did not reach a shelves of Howes store. Howe said, We are cleaning up a lot right now to make sure there is no molding. Howe said they did not have power for four days after a storm, but he was able to re-start their power with a generators he owns. Howe said he donated his ice cream and other perishable items to a local fire department which had large freezer boxes. He hopes to have his store cleaned up by a end of a week. Right now, if someone needs something from a store, we can help them out even without a cash register working. According to Howe, a lot of money was lost due to Irene but he is not sure what a storm is costing. The store lacks air conditioning, and some of his freezers have not been tested yet. He additionally has limited electricity. Lately, Howe has been too busy cleaning to calculate his losses. We have been working steadily since Sunday. we never left a island and we would probably be stuck outside a island if we did leave, he said. On a Outer Banks, Hatteras Islands received a most impact from Irene. Dare County officials are only allowing residents, insurance adjusters, and emergency crews helping with cleanup, to enter Hatteras Islands and a southern part of a Outer Banks. Re-entry started on Tues., Sept. 6. In Rodanthe, N.C., a section of Highway 12 was washed away.! In a pr ess release from a N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, N.C. Gov. Perdue stated that a temporary bridge will be set up to allow traffic in less than one month. The N.C. Department of Transportation is working with state and federal partners to develop a long-term plan as soon as possible, according to a press release. Other areas of a Outer Banks, such as a north island, are ready for visitors to return to a areas beautiful beaches. Ronnie Gray, owner of Grays Family Department Store in Kitty Hawk, said on a phone, We are ready with open arms to welcome visitors back. Grays Family Department Store opened in 1948. With 63 years of history on a Outer Banks, Gray said they have been through many stormsboth weather and economic. According to Gray, most property repairs in Kitty Hawk was on a side facing a sound, where local residents live. Sometimes evacuations need to be made even if we are not hit. Safety is important. If one life is saved and no serious injuries occur, then it is worth evacuating, Gray said. For Gray, it is all part of living on a Outer Banks; he stayed on a island to ride out a storm. Grays stores were unharmed by Irene, but his wifes parents home did get flooded by Irene. The stores were shut down for a period of five days due to evacuations and a hurricane. This is an economic blow to a area. But according to Gray, who has 40 employees, there is a silver lining for Grays Family Department Store. For a past few days, Gray has received business from insurance adjusters and relief workers. It is gorgeous here and everything is behind up and running. This is a really pretty time of year, said Gray. Back on a mainland, farmers are suffering a major loss. According to a 2007 Census of Agriculture, Pitt County of Greenville, N.C., has 435 farms. Adam Lassiter, Field Crop Agent for Pitt County, said on a phone, On behalf of crops in Pitt County, 85 percent of all our tobacco is damaged, second is a cotton crop with 30 to 40 pe! rcent, a nd soybeans about 10 to 15 percent is damaged. Peanuts will have a late and extended harvest. In Pitt County, 72,000 acres are used for soybean harvest, according to a 2009 census. There has additionally been repairs to farm structure, said Lassiter, who added that Hurricane Irenes repairs may have a greater impact on farmers who do not have insurance. For assistance on a Outer Banks, Interfaith Community Outreach is running a volunteer hotline, in partnership with Dare County. We are here to help people with anything they need and send them in a right direction, said Jennifer Albanese, executive director of a Outer Banks Interfaith Community Outreach, in a phone interview. If someone needs help with flooding, checking for mold, of even help with rent because they spent their money on a hotel during evacuations, we are here to help, said Albanese. As of Sept. 6, Gov. Perdue has made a ask to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack for a prompt, major disaster declaration for 43 counties in Eastern North Carolina. Thirteen counties in N.C. have received a presidential disaster declaration, allowing families and business owners to seek low-interest loans or grants to help them recover from Hurricane Irene, and Perdue has additionally performed public assistance for 20 eastern counties to help local governments defray a costs of storm response, waste removal, and infrastructure repairs, stated a press release from a N.C. Department of Crime and Public Safety.