As Tropical Storm Idalia passes, damage assessments begin in the Wilmington area

With heavy winds and rainfall overnight, the Wilmington area experienced some damage from Tropical Storm Idalia.

Reports mostly included downed trees, minor road flooding and damage from possible tornadoes Wednesday night..

If you experienced any damage from the storm, let us know at breakingnews@starnewsonline.com.

Tornadoes

The outer bands of Tropical Storm Idalia moved into the Cape Fear region Wednesday bringing storms that spawned a number of tornado warnings across the region. While crews were still on the ground in several locations Thursday afternoon, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Wilmington said teams did confirm that two tornadoes touched down -- one in Silver Lake near Monkey Junction in Wilmington and one just across the Cape Fear River along N.C. 133 near Winnabow.

At this time, teams are still on site in other areas surveying the damage, and a determination is expected on those possible tornadoes later today.

Flooding

As of Thursday morning, rain had fallen across the Cape Fear region for nearly 24 hours, and reports of water on the roadways started coming in Wednesday night.

Law enforcement agencies across Brunswick County were reporting flooding on a number of roads and urged drivers to use caution.

Reports included flooding along roads in Hearthstone and Mallory Creek in Leland; N.C. 87, Pine Lake, Fifty Lakes, E. Boiling Spring, and Goldsboro roads in Boiling Spring Lakes; several roads in Oak Island; Bay Street and Yacht Basin Drive in Southport; N.C. 130 in Shallotte; Ash-Little River Road; and N.C. 211 near St. James. Sections of U.S. 17 also were underwater but passable.

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office reported Thursday morning that a section of Shallotte Point Loop Road was washed out and not passable.

The storm combined with king tides pushed water into the streets at several beach towns. The town of Sunset Beach closed the bridge to the mainland at high tide for about two hours Wednesday evening, noting the bridge was impassable due to inundation. Ocean Isle Beach also had flooding along Richmond Street, and Southport’s Yacht Basin was underwater during high tide.

Pender County Emergency Management Director Tommy Batson said river flooding is expected there early next week.

THE LATEST NEWS:Complete coverage of Hurricane Idalia's impacts on the Wilmington area

Power Outages

As of Thursday morning, some residents in the Wilmington area were without power, and several others rushed to their coffee pots as the power flickered, but for most, the power remained on.

Alex Riley, spokesman for New Hanover County, reported "several thousand" of Duke Energy's customers were without power, and there were several reports of downed trees with many of those already cleared.

Batson said about 1,000 residents are without power in Pender County.

According to the outage maps, Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation was reporting about 423 of its 98,343 Brunswick County customers were without power early Thursday morning.

Duke Energy Carolinas had about 1,500 reported power outages around Leland, Northwest, and Sandy Creek, about 3,000 were without power across Wilmington, and a few in Pender County.

In Pender County, Four-County EMC reported about 650 were without power in Pender County. Jones-Onslow, which serves just over 8,7000 residents in Pender County reported only six were without power.

More:Wilmington-area power outages: See maps as Idalia impacts North Carolina

Debris

As residents awoke Thursday morning, many found limbs, branches and debris in their yards. But with high winds expected throughout the day, more could fall before Tropical Storm Idalia passes.

A few reported damages from Wednesday evening’s possible tornadoes. One unconfirmed tornado was reported to have touched down near St. James and caused damage to the Four Paws Veterinary Hospital. The business addressed the damages on its Facebook page, noting a portion of the roof was blown off and the ceiling in front of the building had collapsed.

“Our clinic cats are safe,” the post said. “No people were injured and things can be rebuilt.”

The post noted the clinic would be closed Thursday and Friday, and the owner hoped to have a plan in place by Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a reader in Myrtle Grove reported several downed trees and damages to a well, screened porch and outdoor fans and lighting fixtures.