Mountain Island Lake residents can’t go home as Mecklenburg County begins recovery effort

Storm recovery efforts continued in Mecklenburg County on Monday after people in about 100 homes were displaced following flooding near Mountain Island Lake and the Catawba River last week.

Efforts will go on for the next few weeks, said Paige Grande, a spokesperson for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management, but residents will not be able to return home until the damage to their home has been assessed and repaired.

And that will depend on how long it takes for water in the area to recede.

“We’re still waiting on the waters to recede in order for it to be safe to begin to do initial assessments and damage reports so that we can make sure that we are getting people what they need,” Grande said.

If some homes only saw flooding in the basement, for example, residents won’t have to wait very long. But if damage is more extensive, and water damaged multiple floors of a home or electrical wiring, then the wait will be much longer.

“We’re prioritizing safety at this time, so working with residents individually to determine when they are safe to move back,” Grande said.

Power had been mostly restored in Mecklenburg County. Just over 2,000 customers had no power on Monday afternoon, according to Duke Energy’s outage map.

Duke Energy also tracks lake levels, and said normal full pond at Mountain Island Lake elevation is 96 feet. The company reported Sunday morning that Mountain Island Lake was at 103.6 feet. The company pushed water through its system and into South Carolina after Helene hit on Friday morning, which threatened to increase flooding.

Grande said because a local and state emergency was declared, money will be available to people and will be able to get financial assistance to help with home repairs. But may take a while because heavily-damaged western North Carolina is being prioritized, she said.

Mecklenburg County saw one resident, Tony Taylor, die during the storm from a neighbor’s tree falling on his home in Charlotte.

Taylor’s wife, Sandy Lucille Taylor and their four children survived, but “the loss of such a kind and loving man has left a profound void,” wrote Stephen Barbour on a GoFundMe he started for the family .

“Uncle Tony was a friend to everyone.”

CMS schools back open Tuesday

Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools remained closed on Monday but will reopen Tuesday, the school district said.