S’hampton damage estimated at $500,000

Published 11:31 am Monday, August 29, 2011

Gene Capps surveys the damage to two large limbs in his yard on Hunt Club Road; Carrsville. Capps has lived at this location for 44 years. -- KATE ARCHER/TIDEWATER NEWS

A tree hangs in the electric lines on South Street in Franklin on Sunday. -- James Artis | Tidewater News

COURTLAND—Damages in Southampton County from Hurricane Irene are expected to be about $500,000, County Administrator Mike Johnson said Monday morning.

“That’s excluding agriculture damage,” Johnson said. “We have agents out now and hope to know by today.”

In addition, an estimated 70 percent of residents and businesses remained without power as of late Monday morning, Johnson said.

No preliminary damage totals were available for Isle of Wight County this morning, said county spokesman Don Robertson.

“We have two homes that were identified as total losses,” said Robertson, noting he didn’t know where the homes were located. “We’ve got about 15 others that had damage from siding being pulled off to roof damage and trees on their homes.”

The county’s building inspectors were traveling the 320-square-mile area, making assessments today. Robertson hoped to have a damage total by late afternoon today.

Some 3,500 customers of the 8,000 with Community Electric Cooperative who lost power in Southampton and Isle of Wight counties and the City of Suffolk had it restored by mid-Monday morning.

“We look to make a lot of headway today,” said Greg Cook, vice president of administration and finance for the Windsor-based utility. “We have roughly 34 crews coming in to help us with restoration from Tennessee, central Virginia and

Barc Electric Cooperative in western Virginia.”

Cook could not give specific locations in the two counties with or without power, but noted that some folks in Windsor had their electric restored. He expected everyone to have power back within a day or two.

As of Monday morning, there were 1,900 Community Electric Cooperative customers in the county without power and 375 with Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative in the western part of the county, Johnson said.

“With Dominion Virginia Power, we have a significant number we can’t nail down,” he said.

Power was restored to the Town of Courtland at about 9 p.m. Sunday. The town is served by Dominion.