Albemarle devastated by storms, home split in half

ALBEMARLE, N.C. — Storms that swept through the Charlotte area late Thursday afternoon left behind widespread damage that will take days to clean up. Officials already declared a state of emergency in Stanly County.

Downed power lines and trees are scattered throughout the region. Power crews said they could be working through the weekend to restore power to everyone.

Assessors from the state's emergency management agency are going to Stanly County, one of the hardest-hit areas, to see if it qualifies for state disaster assistance.

An Emergency Management official said in order to get resources from the state to help quickly rebuild, they must have over a quarter of a million dollar in damages in the county.

He said they will easily meet that. They have teams talking with people about the damage in helps of getting federal aid, also.

At least 25 homes were damaged, with one split in half by a large tree. The homeowner said a 70-foot-tall tree was blown down by the strong winds and fell into part of his living room while his wife was home alone.

"She said it was like a loud crash, and all of a sudden water was coming in the house like crazy. She was able to get out with the aid of a neighbor," said James Lee.

Money for recovery is helpful, but many people here are just glad they escaped without serious injury.

Another tree fell into an intersection on North Seventh Street and became entangled in power lines, creating a very dangerous situation.

The American Red Cross has reopened a shelter at Albemarle High School at 7 a.m. for victims of the storm damage. The shelter was open until 1 a.m. but no storm victims came to stay overnight.



WSOC