The winds of more than 60 miles per hour that hit the Triangle on Tuesday morning proved to be too much for many local trees, downing power lines and leaving hundreds of homes without electricity.
More than 225 Orange County residences had no electricity as of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Duke Energy’s website.
The storm, which reached North Carolina at 3:30 a.m., left more than 225,000 homes in the state without power. But Chapel Hill saw some of the worst damage, said Betsy Conway, spokeswoman for Duke Energy.
Much of the damage was to power lines, which utility companies are responsible for repairing.
Duke Energy has secured more than 900 crew members from other service areas to help with the process. Crews began assessing the damage and making minor repairs Tuesday morning.
“It does still continue as more folks call in, as the day progresses and more damage is found out,” Conway said.
Conway said major repairs would take multiple days. She did not have an estimated cost of the storm’s damage to the utilities.
Students at East Chapel Hill High School spent three hours without electricity, although all schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district remained open, said Robin Nucilli, publications assistant at the system’s office.
Though the area’s power lines saw some of the worst damage in the state, the other impact to Chapel Hill was small, said Richard Terrell, operations manager for the Chapel Hill Public Works Department.
