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Tropical Storm Zeta Leaves at Least 570,000 Without Power in Carolinas

Zeta was a Category 2 hurricane when forecasters say it made landfall at about 4 p.m. Wednesday near Cocodrie, Louisiana. The system, which downgraded overnight to a tropical storm, was expected to bring heavy rain and winds of up to 60 mph as it continued its track toward the northeast.

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TNS
Oct. 29—More than 570,000 customers in the Carolinas were without power Thursday afternoon as Tropical Storm Zeta unleashed strong winds.
 
Zeta was a Category 2 hurricane when forecasters say it made landfall at about 4 p.m. Wednesday near Cocodrie, Louisiana. The system, which downgraded overnight to a tropical storm, was expected to bring heavy rain and winds of up to 60 mph as it continued its track toward the northeast.
 
In North Carolina, there were more than 402,000 outages as of noon, data show. The highest concentrations were in Forsyth, Iredell and other counties in the Charlotte and Triad areas, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety.
 
Power outages also hit Upstate South Carolina. Throughout the state, about 172,000 customers were without power as of noon, according to the online tracking tool on the website poweroutage.us.
 
Some customers have Duke Energy, which listed more than 132,000 without power, many in the western part of the state.
 
"#Zeta is bringing high winds through the Carolinas causing outages due to flying debris, fallen trees and downed poles and lines," the company wrote on Twitter. "Use extreme caution and avoid contact with downed power lines and other debris during and after a storm."
 
Also in South Carolina, utilities provider Blue Ridge Electric Co-op reported more than 39,000 power outages.
 
"The strong winds have subsided to the point that it has become safe for crews to operate their equipment and begin making repairs," the provider wrote in an 11:30 a.m. Facebook update.
 
Zeta packed 50-mph winds and was about 100 miles northeast of Asheville as of 11 a.m. Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.
 
As the storm moved across the Southeast, more than 2 million customers lost power, CNN reported.
 
This is a developing story and will be updated.
 
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(c)2020 The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
 
Visit The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) at www.newsobserver.com
 
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
 
 

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