By Associated Press - Monday, October 10, 2016

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on the recovery from Hurricane Matthew in North Carolina all times local):

8 p.m.

Several Fayetteville VA Medical Center facilities have been impacted by Hurricane Matthew, leading to temporary closures and modifications of available services.

A statement released Monday said Goldsboro Community-based Clinic is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Robeson County facility will be closed for the rest of the week.

All surgeries and procedures scheduled for the Fayetteville VA Health Care are cancelled for the remainder of the week, while all procedures scheduled for the Wilmington VA Health Care are cancelled for Tuesday.

Cancelled appointments will be rescheduled for first available opening.

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7:40 p.m.

Electric cooperatives in North Carolina are working in southeastern counties to restore power.

As of 5 p.m. Monday, the cooperatives reported 74,000 customers without electricity.

Close to 270 additional workers are in the field with local line-workers and tree trimmers to speed repairs to local cooperative systems. Counties experiencing the highest number of co-op outages are Robeson, Bladen, Sampson, Harnett and Wayne.

The cooperatives are working closely with Duke Energy on remaining transmission outages. Several transmission outages already have been restored, and more repairs to transmission outages are expected Monday night into Tuesday. Transmission-based outages account for approximately 75 percent of the cooperatives’ remaining outages.

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7:10 p.m.

President Barack Obama has signed a disaster declaration for North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Matthew’s flooding for damage that’s already occurred and that may happen later this week as river levels rise following massive rains.

Monday’s declaration means individuals in 10 counties can access federal funding for things like home repairs, temporary housing and loans to cover uninsured property losses. Those counties are Beaufort, Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Hoke, Lenoir, Nash, Pitt and Robeson.

Local governments and some nonprofits in 31 eastern counties now can also get help from the federal government for emergency work, paid for on a cost-sharing basis. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says more counties could be designated as damage assessments are completed.

Gov. Pat McCrory turned in paperwork over the weekend to attempt to expedite the declaration process.

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5:20 p.m.

Nearly 800 inmates in a North Carolina prison have been evacuated due to rising floodwaters associated with Hurricane Matthew.

Keith Acree of the Department of Public Safety said Monday that 797 prisoners were transported by bus from Neuse Correctional Institution in Goldsboro to other prisons in the state system.

Neuse Correctional Institution sits near the confluence of the Neuse and Little rivers. It is a minimum-security prison which houses adult male inmates.

5 p.m.

Officials report the death toll linked to Hurricane Matthew in North Carolina has risen to 11 after the body of a 75-year-old man was discovered inside his car in Gates County.

The state Emergency Operations Center said authorities received a report of a missing man on Sunday, and that the last ping on his cell phone came at 1:17 p.m. and was traced to an area of N.C. 32 near Gatesville which had been flooded.

When the flood waters began to recede on Monday, the car was located and the body was found inside.

The man’s identity hasn’t been released.

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3:50 p.m.

A Duke Energy official says work crews were stationed to handle the damages from Hurricane Matthew, “but the punch was bigger” and they had to double the number of workers to deal with outages.

Storm Director Bobby Simpson said Monday that the utility had resources in place and workers staged and lined up with what they expected to happen last weekend. But he said the storm’s wrath exceeded expectations and led Duke to more than double the number of resources needed to handle the restoration of power. Now, Simpson said, more than 7,000 people are working to restore power and more are on the way.

Simpson said that as of Monday afternoon, about 430,000 customers were without power, down from a high of about 1.2 million at the height of Matthew. Of those, about 300,000 customers are in North Carolina and around 100,000 were in South Carolina.

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2:30 p.m.

Only hours after announcing classes were set to resume, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington is telling students they will have to wait a little longer before they can return to campus.

The school announced Monday that it has canceled classes for Tuesday.

Most campus dining locations and the library will be operational on Tuesday for those students who have returned to campus. The school said information regarding the reopening of the student recreation center will be shared when available.

Officials said employees should report to work as planned on Tuesday. Those employees who think they’ll have trouble getting to work should refer to the school’s adverse weather policy and contact their supervisors.

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2:10 p.m.

Administrators at East Carolina University have announced that classes have been canceled for the rest of the week in anticipation of flooding in Greenville, Pitt County and eastern North Carolina.

The school announced Monday that students should not return to campus and Greenville until further notice. They say many roads are impassible and others are expected to close.

ECU is advising employees to check with their managers regarding schedules and alternate work locations.

Also, the school announced that Thursday night’s football game between the Pirates and the U.S. Naval Academy has been postponed until Nov. 19.

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1:50 p.m.

The ferry division of the N.C. Department of Transportation has received conditional approval from the U.S. Coast Guard to resume service to and from Ocracoke Island for first responders only.

Service was suspended due to hazardous conditions caused by Hurricane Matthew.

Monday’s schedule includes four runs between Cedar Island and Ocracoke. There was another run between Swan Quarter and Ocracoke on

Crews are currently conducting test runs on the Hatteras Inlet route to Ocracoke.

Full passenger operations remain suspended until the ferry division receives clearance from the Coast Guard. Once approved, service will resume under the guidelines of Hyde County’s re-entry protocols.

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1:20 p.m.

Two North Carolina colleges will be closed for a week, while another will resume classes this week in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

The Fayetteville Observer reported Methodist University announced Monday that classes were canceled until Oct. 17. No other details were available.

The University of North Carolina at Pembroke has suspended all classes and campus activities effective immediately and continuing through Wednesday. A statement on the school’s web page says emergency shelter, food and water will be provided to students who are unable to leave the campus. The school’s fall break starts Thursday.

In Wilmington, officials at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington say students will be permitted to return to their residence halls on Monday. Classes are scheduled to resume on Tuesday, when the campus will also be reopened for employees.

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12:05 p.m.

The restoration of power after Hurricane Matthew pounded North Carolina is improving.

North Carolina Emergency Management said late Monday morning that about 465,000 customers are still without service.

That’s down from about 491,000 earlier Monday.

Duke Energy still has the most customers without service at just over 300,000 customers.

Gov. Pat McCrory warned earlier Monday that the situation could worsen because of the on-going flooding in the eastern part of the state. Flood conditions are expected to worsen in some parts of North Carolina at least through Friday.

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11:40 a.m.

Two people thought to be missing in Cumberland County after Hurricane Matthew pounded the state with heavy wind and rain have been found.

Cumberland County officials said late Monday morning that two people thought to be missing in the storm have been contacted.

Officials say two people are still missing after the storm.

Fayetteville police have now filed missing person reports on two people. Police say 43-year-old Boris Abbey was last seen late Saturday afternoon. Forty-five-year-old Christy Woods was last seen Sunday afternoon.

Gov. Pat McCrory said Monday that one person is also missing in Johnston County.

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11:30 a.m.

While Hurricane Matthew dumped up to a foot of rain in parts of North Carolina, heavy rains all through September set the stage for the disaster.

A map from the Southeast Regional Climate Center shows many areas east of Interstate 95 received 10 inches or more of rain during September. That’s more than twice the monthly average.

A lot of the rain fell in the middle of the month as the remnants of Tropical Storm Julia stalled nearby.

Even areas around Raleigh were well above normal, getting 6 or more inches of rain in September.

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10:55 a.m.

Transportation officials in North Carolina are warning that damage and flooding from Hurricane Matthew continue to cause problems on the state’s roads.

Officials said in a news release Monday that Interstate 95 continues to be closed in several locations. Flooding has closed the road in several places between the South Carolina state line and Dunn. Officials said the road will be closed until further notice and motorists are urged to plan alternate routes.

Gov. Pat McCrory warned that the state’s priority is to keep evacuation routes clear. He said it would be a good idea for visitors to avoid I-95.

I-40 is closed on a 3 mile stretch between Newton Grove and Benson, again, because of the flooding. Again, officials urge motorists to plan an alternate route.

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7:55 a.m.

Nearly a half million North Carolinians still do not have electric service after Hurricane Matthew passed by the state over the weekend.

North Carolina Emergency Management said Monday morning that 490,720 residents were without service. The state’s largest utility, Duke Energy, had the biggest problems, with about 310,000 customers without service.

Crews are working to restore service after Matthew hammered the state Saturday and Sunday.

Gov. Pat McCrory is to given an update on the state’s efforts to recover from the storm at 9 a.m. Monday.

At least eight people died in the storm. At least five were reported missing. Severe flooding problems are occurring across the eastern part of North Carolina.

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7:10 a.m.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory will update residents on how the state is doing after Hurricane Matthew.

McCrory meets with reporters at 9 a.m. Monday to talk about the damage the state suffered in the storm.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Tar River in Greenville on Monday morning. The weather service said the river was at nearly 19 feet early Monday. Flooding began at 13 feet. Forecasters say the river could reach 25 feet Wednesday afternoon,

Forecasters said flooding is expected at the Pitt-Greenville Airport and water will move into the city.

Dangerous flooding is also expected along the Neuse River at Kinston.

At least eight people have died in North Carolina. McCrory says rescuers were looking for five people thought to be missing.

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