About 100 extra City employees had to work the weekend of Sept. 15-16 because of Hurricane Florence, keeping municipal services running, ensuring public safety and providing communication to the public and news outlets.
Text in bold below tells various ways City employees assisted the community during the storm. Words in italics are comments the public made on the City’s Facebook and Twitter feeds.
- During the storm, two trees fell on homes and four more fallen trees blocked streets. Police, Fire and Public Works responded.
Thank you for all of your hard work during this very dangerous & trying time.
Thank you for your hard work. The police have been patrolling the neighborhood with search lights aimed at the trees. I’m thinking this is a proactive measure to find trouble spots early. We are grateful for those who are away from their families serving us all. Thank you!
- Public Works employees kept an eye on creek levels and cleaned storm drains as necessary to address localized street flooding.
Thank you! I've seen you out there working hard! Stay safe!
Thank you! We appreciate your hard work during this disaster!
- 67 power outages were reported to the City’s electric division with 5,921 City electric customers losing power. The average outage lasted 1.2 hours.
Great efforts on the part of Utilities team. Power restored in about 20 minutes, and a team member called me directly on phone. ? ?
Thanks to all the linemen who are there for us. God’s protection over them as they work.
Electric is on it. Went off here around 5 am and was back on within the hour. Thank you guys for being on top of all this.
The City of Gastonia has the best linemen!
City of Gastonia got us back up and running within 3 hours. I am super impressed.
Electric crews have done phenomenal.
Nice having our electricity back on. Thank you so much!!!
Power’s back! That was quick. Well done @CityofGastonia.
- Two Rivers Utilities’ water and wastewater plants functioned properly throughout the storm. Backup generators were used at several TRU sewage lift stations in Cramerton because of Duke Power outages.
Thanks for all the hard work.
Awesome job guys. Thanks for all you do.
Couldn’t ask for any better. They are the best!
- Gastonia Fire sent a total of eight firefighters to two locations, Bladen County and Wilmington, to assist with storm response and recovery.
Prayers for all of you!!!! Thank you for your service.
Díos los bendiga y acompañe y que vuelvan con bien... Muchas gracias.
Thank you all so much for your service. God bless you and keep you safe.
- City Solid Waste extended its Free Excess Household Trash Pickup by two days and, for two weeks, waived fees for picking up large amounts of yard waste.
Thank you for giving us more time.
Thank you for extending for those of us with earlier week pickups!
So no fee for extra limbs/storm debris this time? Thanks!
Thank you for adjusting! Much appreciated!
- Communications and Marketing sent four news releases, posted 157 storm-related messages on Twitter and Facebook, and responded to 22 private messages on social media. In one week, the City’s Facebook posts were seen 101,000 times and Twitter posts were seen 91,000 times.
Thank you for keeping us informed, your hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed! Thank you for your service.
I live in MD and I'm doing my best to keep up with the storm via Internet because my daughter lives in Gastonia, can you tell me what the local news and weather station and channel is for Gastonia??
Thanks for the updates!
Sharing your work is SUCH a good idea. Thanks for helping us to see the dedication and hard work of our crews during this time. Y’all stay safe.
Thank you for the updates and your quick action! I am impressed!
Thank you 1st responders for all that you do! Thank you @CityofGastonia & @walkerreidmayor for keeping the citizens of #Gastonia informed! You are Appreciated .
Just have to give city of Gastonia thumbs up for keeping this page updated during this storm. I can watch the local news but even local is not right here in my hometown. Thank you. Also thank you to the mayor, the first responders and esp the linemen.
- City crews spent countless hours preparing for the storm, working long hours during the event and cleaning up streets, parks and other public spaces after the storm. As life began to return to normal in Gastonia, many residents shared messages of gratitude.
City of Gastonia Government thank you! Y'all have been simply amazing through all of this! Thank you all for your service.
Awesome job. A+!
I’m a very satisfied customer! Way to go!
Love the app.
Thank you @CityofGastonia!!
City of Gastonia Government thanks so much!
Fantastic job! Thank you for your hard work.
Thank you to all employees on storm duty!
Great job and I thank each and every one of you so very much! We live outside of city limits but I've seen so many of you out and about as I take my kids to school, go to the store, etc. I hope the weather will permit you all a much needed rest!