Ports of Wilmington and Morehead City remain closed

The worst flooding in North Carolina could be yet to come in the wake of Florence.    The Ports of Wilmington and Morehead City will remained closed through Wednesday in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.
   “Hurricane Florence has had a major impact on North Carolina and the Ports of Wilmington and Morehead City,” North Carolina Ports tweeted. “We are assessing the situation at both locations.”
   In a customer advisory distributed Sunday, Maersk Line said North Carolina Ports “continues to focus on protecting staff, cargo, facilities and equipment. Waters may continue to rise due to the continuous rain expected through Thursday.”
   Maersk said the U.S. Coast Guard was scheduled to evaluate conditions on Monday. “The terminal has not been flooded; however, severe rains are still expected through the week,” the customer advisory said.
   “Maersk Line is determining the impact on our TP10 service. During the weekend we will be making the decision how to handle the Navios Tempo on the TP10,” the advisory said.
   The South Carolina Ports Authority said vessel operations at the Port of Charleston resumed at 4 a.m. Monday. Norfolk Southern and CSX intermodal operations also resumed early Monday morning.
   Maersk said the Wando Terminal at the Port of Charleston was experiencing congestion, but that is expected to be resolved this week.
   “The Maersk Semarang has omitted Charleston. The vessel will call Freeport (Wednesday) to transship cargo for further delivery. Cargo destined for Charleston will be loaded onto the Sealand Washington for arrival” Saturday, Maersk said in its advisory.
   Inland Port Greer reported normal gate and terminal operations and Norfolk Southern service in South Carolina between Charleston and Greer had resumed Monday.
   Inland Port Dillon remained closed Monday. The port was expected to reopen at 6 a.m. Tuesday. The first CSX train is scheduled to arrive in Dillon from Charleston on Wednesday.
   SCPA also said that Georgetown reopened at 8 a.m. Monday.
   In Georgia, normal gate operations are being observed at the Port of Savannah. “However, the vessels are only being permitted to sail on a case-by-case basis,” Maersk said. “The TA4 Safmarine Nomazwe has been approved to work. This is the first vessel in the new TA4 rotation.”
   On its website, the American Logistics Aid Network has compiled a list of “logistics needs,” including warehouse space in North Carolina in Raleigh/Durham, Wilmington, Newbern, Greenville and Southern Pines. Material-handling equipment also was needed throughout North Carolina.
   The North Carolina Department of Public Safety reported on its website that there were 483,694 power outages in the state as of 10 a.m. Monday. 
   The North Carolina Department of Transportation tweeted Monday, “The following routes in Columbus County are impassable this morning: US 74, US 76, US 701 bypass, US 701 business, NC 11, NC 87, NC 211 and NC 905. I-74 corridor closed both directions from Whiteville to Brunswick County.”
   CNN said Monday morning, “The storm has already killed at least 18 people, trapped hundreds more and made parts of the Carolinas impassable. But authorities and forecasters say the worst flooding is yet to come.”