POST HURRICANE ARTHUR ADVISORY #9

July 5, 2014 11:00 a.m.

Updated Information About Electricity, Water, Waste, and Ferries for Ocracoke Island

Hyde County officials have declared a curfew for Ocracoke Island between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. each day until power is fully restored.

Electricity:

Tideland EMC's Ocracoke generator is currently operating. If electric load remains low enough for Tideland's generator the rotation schedule will be: 3 hours on and 3 hours off until full power is restored Sunday night. 

The generator WILL NOT WORK unless every resident and visitor on Ocracoke practices strict conservation. Please turn off all non-essential breakers including water heaters and air conditioning.  Limit electric demand to refrigeration and fans ONLY.  Ocracoke residents and guests, please do not become complacent about electrical loads while we rely on generator power. If electric loads exceed generator operating capacity we will have to begin the process all over again.

Water:

The Ocracoke water plant is operating on generator power.  Please be conservative with water usage until full power is restored.

Trash and Storm Debris:

The Ocracoke solid waste site expects to accept household waste around lunchtime, however space will be limited as the trash compactors cannot operate without electricity. New trash containers will arrive regularly until operations normalize.

  

Chipping will begin Monday morning and continue until no longer needed. Anything smaller than 6 inches in diameter can be chipped on site.  All debris must be accessible close to the driveway. To get on the chipping services list please call (252) 928-0005. Anything larger than 6 inches in diameter cannot be chipped and will need to be disposed of at the solid waste site.

Access To and From Ocracoke:

Ferry tolls for departures from Ocracoke are still waived and any remaining visitors are strongly encouraged to leave the Island. Visitor access to Ocracoke will be restricted until further notice. The Swan Quarter and Cedar Island ferries will operate on their normal schedule. The Hatteras ferry will operate on demand. Visit NCDOT.gov/ferry for the most recent information.

Access to Ocracoke Island is currently limited to emergency and infrastructure personnel, as well as residents and property owners only if they can produce any of the following documents:

• Unexpired Ocracoke re-entry hangtag from Hyde County (any color)
• Expired Ocracoke re-entry hangtag or sticker from Hyde County (any color)
• North Carolina Drivers License with Ocracoke listed as residence
• Documentation with proof of owning property on Ocracoke (ie: tax record)