What to do before, during, and after a hurricane to protect your wiring, panel, and appliances. From Cliff Proctor, a Wilmington electrician who's worked every major storm since Fran in 1996: Florence, Matthew, Isaias, and everything in between.
Describe what you need. Cliff calls you back.
The time to do this is before the weather channel starts naming storms. Most of this takes a weekend or a single service call. Once the cone is pointed at Wilmington, everybody calls at once.
Once it's here, your job is simple: stay safe and don't make the damage worse. Most storm-related electrical injuries happen because someone did something they shouldn't have during or immediately after the storm.
The storm passed, but the danger hasn't. More electrical injuries happen in the days after a hurricane than during it. Take it slow. Check everything before you re-energize.
Living on the coast means living in hurricane country. Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Figure Eight Island are all in evacuation zones . these homes take the worst of the storm surge and wind-driven rain. Salt air corrodes electrical connections year-round, and a hurricane accelerates that damage. We install surge protectors, transfer switches, and generators on beach houses all summer so they're ready when the season hits.
Wilmington sits inland but floods regularly . the Cape Fear River, Smith Creek, and Burnt Mill Creek all overflowed during Florence. Monkey Junction and Myrtle Grove saw some of the worst standing water. Hampstead and Leland tend to catch more wind damage . downed trees hitting service entrance cables, shingles off the weatherhead. Ogden and Porters Neck get both. We handle panel replacements, storm damage repair, and rewiring across all of New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick counties.