By Ray Birch
WILMINGTON, N.C.—Credit unions in some of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Florence likely won’t be able to assess actual damages for days, due the inability to get to affected offices.
In the meantime, many offices remain closed, in some cases because employees are unable to make it to branches.
The storm that unleashed record-breaking rain totals and had killed at least 23 people by Monday may be followed by additional rain and rising rivers and streams, and that waters are unlikely to fully recede for days.
“It’s not over for anyone” in areas affected by the hurricane, Linda Garboczi, chief marketing officer, at Piedmont Advantage CU, told CUToday.info Monday. Garboczi said that Piedmont Advantage closed its office in hard-hit Wilmington, N.C., which flooding had turned into an island, and has no estimate on when it might reopen.
Credit union branches in a number of markets remain closed, especially in North Carolina. Large sections of I-95 and I-40 in North Carolina are closed because of flooding, and approximately 750,000 people were without power Monday. Affecting branch and CU operations beyond just the impassable roads, flooding and lack of power, in some cities there is concern that a lack of fuel will lead to a shutdown of water treatment plants.
‘Wrestling with Accessibility’
“It appears much of southeast North Carolina will be wrestling with accessibility and other issues related to flooding and power. A lot of CUs have reported minimal damage. But those in the general area bounded by I-95 to the west, Goldsboro to the North, New Bern/Morehead City to the east, and Whiteville/Carolina Beach to the south either reported very limited availability or closure indefinitely until they can reach facilities to assess damage,” Brandon Pugh, VP, public relations and communications at Carolinas Credit Union League, told CUToday.info.
Wilmington, a city of about 119,000 residents, has been cut off, with roads leading to it submerged. Emergency officials are making plans to deliver supplies to the city.
Garboczi said the Piedmont Advantage’s offices in Wilmington and neighboring Kenansville were closed Monday and look to remain closed more days this week.
River Yet to Crest
“The (Cape Fear) river has not crested yet, so those two branches are unable to reopen due to flooding, power outages and inaccessibility due to road closures,” Garboczi explained Monday. “We closed all of our offices in affected areas late last week to make sure our staff would be safe. Now we have to wait until everyone can get back in. Right now, it looks like those two branches have minimal damage. But we just can’t get there yet.”
Garboczi said it was too early, as well, to know if any staff or members had been injured by the storm.
“I am located in the middle of North Carolina and now the skies are blue with some light clouds,” Garboczi said. “But there may be more rain coming Wilmington’s way. Our employees in that area have evacuated and hunkered down and are dealing with their own situations. We need to wait until conditions improve to assess the type of support our staff and members need and move forward with even more assistance.”
Piedmont Advantage immediately let members know it would work with them any way possible to help with their situations, such as providing emergency loans.
“We will do as much as we possibly can for them and for our staff,” Garboczi said. “We are a credit union, and that is what we are here for.”
Dedicated Team to Help
The CU has a team of employees dedicated to providing members with assistance beyond just their financial issues. Garboczi said the team is trained to help connect people with the organizations and government agencies they might need.
“People who have their lives turned upside down due to a tragedy like this often don’t know where to start for help,” she said. “Our team is working with members to determine their needs and get them help as quickly as possible. We are trying to make the credit union a one-stop-shop for them because members have so many questions when a storm like this hits and it’s tough to have to make a lot of phone calls and get transferred to a lot of different people when you are stressed. They have a lot on their minds.”
Garboczi added that the CU’s ATMs in Wilmington are working and that mobile and online banking are helping to meet members’ needs.
“The ATMs being up has been a big help, people need cash,” she said.
Employees Can’t Make it to Work
Corning CU, based in Corning, N.Y., has five offices in North Carolina. The CU’s Corning office reported that none of its North Carolina employees could make it to work Monday, so those offices remain closed.
“Only one of our ATMs is working,” said a credit union employee. “We believe some of these offices suffered some damage from the storm, but the big issue is employees can’t get to work. We will be able to assess the damage when we can get to our offices. It’s wait and see for now.”
The Carolinas CU League said the situation is similar all across the eastern part of North Carolina.
"When we get more information, I think we'll have a better sense of how we can help credit unions in the coming days and weeks," said League President and CEO Dan Schline, who has reached out to credit union CEOs throughout the weekend. "We expect to hear more as they are able to get to their credit unions, assess damage, and take inventory."
As of late last week, the league website showed more than 25 credit unions that had closed branches in advance of the hurricane.
Alliance CU offices in Wilmington remained closed Monday, with the CU stating on its website that it will “monitor the situation and reopen when it is safe for our staff and members. Our hearts and prayers are with everyone affected by Hurricane Florence.
Systems Affected
Marine FCU in Wilmington noted that its systems were impacted by Hurricane Florence.
“Online Banking and Marine FCU ATMS are down. However, use of debit cards at non-Marine FCU ATMs will work. Both debit and credit cards will continue to work for purchases while we're down. We are working diligently to restore our systems and will continue to update…we know the impact this has had on our members. We've asked for your patience through this ordeal and understand the frustration you have felt regarding your finances. Many of our own employees were trapped or evacuated, and faced the same uncertainty,” the credit union stated on its website.
Sharonview FCU’s website explained that threeof its North Carolina branches—Wilmington, Bladen and Fayetteville—remained closed Monday. North Carolina State Employees Credit Union, reported that four of its Wilmington offices did not reopen Monday.
“Even with a hurricane like this, the upside is we did get notice,” said Garboczi. “You get very little notice with a tornado and none from an earthquake. So we had been preparing for week and half to keep our employees as safe possible from Florence and serve members in its aftermath. That was the good thing, we saw this coming. But as far as its severity, this storm just hammered the eastern part of North Carolina. I know we were prepared for the hurricane, but you hope it’s never this bad. This is tragic.”