More than 4,000 residences remain without power in the Roanoke Rapids area today following an intense thunderstorm Friday which toppled trees and power lines.

“We’re cutting where we can cut,” public works Director Larry Chalker said. “There’s a lot of trees down in power lines. We can’t cut until it’s safe. We’re bringing other crews in. It’s a coordinated effort.”

It was a storm that lasted between 12 to 15 minutes but had the strength of a tornado. The damages, however, in which trees crashed into several houses, appeared to be that of straight line winds, Chalker said.

The storm hit around 6:30 p.m. Friday and crews stayed out until around 2 this morning before coming back out today. 

Whether attributable to the storm or other factors, a car ran through a fence at the public works department on Hinson Street.

As crews continue to work, Chalker said there are power lines that are still down. The North Carolina Forest Service is assisting the city and Dominion has dispatched other crews to help in power restoration. “It’s a massive effort and it will take days to recover.”

There are transformers hanging by wires, he said, cautioning people to pay attention to their surroundings. “If you don’t know a line is live, pretend it is.”

Parks and Recreation Director Kelly Daughtry said the Gilbert Chichester Memorial Library is open through 4 this afternoon so people can charge their phones.

Playground equipment at Rochelle Park was damaged, Daughtry said, and the Forest Service is cutting downed trees at Smith Park. The Emry Park trail is blocked by fallen trees in two places and there are multiple trees down on the Roanoke Canal Trail.

Trees remain down throughout the city and a house in the 1300 block of Jefferson sustained heavy damage from a fallen tree.

A pickup between Roanoke Avenue and Emry Park was lifted up by a tree trunk and there are still several streets in the city which have fallen trees across them.

City Manager Kelly Traynham said today that the cleanup effort has been outstanding. “Employees worked all week long and then came back out Friday night. All the city departments have stepped up.”

City hall served as an emergency operations center until 1 this morning.

It is still too early to know whether a curfew enacted Friday night will continue this evening, she said.

The curfew was enacted Friday to keep people from driving through intersections where traffic lights were out and to keep children from riding bikes or walking through areas with downed power lines.

It is also too early to place a dollar amount on the damages, Traynham said. 

She said she hopes to have numbers and figures by Tuesday’s city council meeting.