Sunday, Perdue toured heavily damaged areas of the following counties: Lee, Harnett, Cumberland, Bladen and Greene. Tours of other counties will take place on Monday, Perdue said during a press conference.
Perdue has declared a state of emergency for NC, which puts the state’s emergency management plan into action.
According to a press release, Perdue has also temporarily suspended the restrictions on work hours for utility workers and driving hours for truck drivers. The order allows the work necessary to repair downed power lines, remove debris, and transport supplies to affected communities.
“I’ve seen a lot of damage in NC over the years, but this is the most catastrophic I’ve ever seen,” Perdue said. “There’s tremendous property damage, destroyed schools and infrastructure damage in 23 counties.”
Perdue said over 2,000 workers are on the ground trying to restore power and clear downed wires and trees.
“The greatest concern right now after such a catastrophe is public safety,” Perdue said. “The long term concern is helping people who have lost everything and need to start over.”
So far 22 people have been confirmed dead, and many others have few resources with which to rebuild.
“[NC] is a strong state. We always bounce back and we’ll be fine in the long run.”
Perdue and the NC Dept. of Crime Control and Public Safety started the tour in Raleigh Sunday morning and visited places like Shaw University, which sustained heavy damage. The tours continued in eastern NC and consisted of an aerial view of the damage from a helicopter and conversations with those badly affected.
Perdue said she was most affected by the accounts of people who were most affected by the storm.
“I’m not shocked at all by the damage, but I was truly sad, almost to the point of tears, when I talked to the people,” Perdue said. “They were so grateful to be alive. Everything around them is gone, but they were so grateful to be alive.”
Perdue said she spoke with President Obama Sunday morning, and that he has pledged to do whatever it takes to rebuild NC as quickly as possible.
Nicole Pendergrass, who lives next to Shaw University, said she hasn’t seen anything like the damage since hurricane Fran.
“I was at home having a birthday party with 13 kids over, an we saw it all. [The tornado] picked one a trash can and threw it against my window,” she said.
“Shaw University is really messed up; they need to remodel everything,” said Pendergrass. “The roof of the cafeteria is gone.”
Shaw University Campus Police officers were guarding pieces of the copper roof of Estey Hall, which houses the University President’s office.
Much of the copper roofing, which one of the officers said is worth about $8 a pound, had already been stolen, and other large pieces were tangled in the tree branches.
