Unlike Guilford County’s State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic – which went on and on and on – the State of Emergency that county officials declared for Hurricane Ian only lasted a couple of days. On Monday, Oct. 3, soon after the Hurricane remnants came and went, county officials lifted the emergency state with a press release.

“Effective 1 p.m. today, the State of Emergency declared for all incorporated areas of Guilford County to include the City of Greensboro, City of High Point, Towns of Gibsonville, Jamestown, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield, Oak Ridge, and Whitsett by Board of County Commissioners’ Chairman Melvin ‘Skip’ Alston will be terminated,” the release declared on October 3.

The State of Emergency that applied to the entire county was issued on Friday, September 30, “as a precautionary measure due to anticipation of inclement weather and storm impact.”

The State of North Carolina also declared a State of Emergency due to its concern over power outages from downed trees, heavy rain, high winds and potential loss of life.

Counties in the state are authorized to declare a State of Emergency if county leaders expect to see property damage or expect the lives of residents to be at risk.

According to county officials, the declaration before Ian hit allowed for the county and the local governments within it to submit for reimbursements of costs associated with preparing for the emergency.

According to the Monday, Oct. 3 press release from Guilford County, “The number of power outages across the state reached more than 370,000 in the wake of sustained rainfall, high winds, flash flooding, and downed limbs caused by Hurricane Ian as it made landfall along the South Carolina Coast after causing devastation across the Florida peninsula. Restoring grid power for the impacted areas is ongoing while debris removal and residential clean-ups continues.”