Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

“We were lucky …,” is how Stanly County Emergency Services Director Michael Roark put it Friday morning.
While the entity formerly known as Tropical Storm Debby spurred tornadoes, major flooding and led to at least eight deaths elsewhere, Stanly Countians were minor in comparison.
“The majority of impacts we saw were downed trees and very minor flooding,” Roark said Friday morning. “We were lucky that the track of the storm spared us from any major impacts that were seen to our east. We will spend the day making sure there is no other damage that has not been reported, but overall, the storm wasn’t as impactful as it could have been.”
At 2 p.m. Thursday, the Roark reported the county had experienced 48 road closures due to flooding and debris, with 15 roads still closed at that point. By Friday morning, the county only reported Old Mill Road in Albemarle and Hillford Road in Oakboro as closed, the latter due to water over a bridge.
To support ongoing efforts, local swift water rescue teams were on standby Thursday, with an additional state swift water team ready to assist as needed.
The Stanly County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated at 4 a.m. Thursday, coordinating response efforts across the county. Emergency management personnel worked with local law enforcement, fire departments and public works to address the needs of the community.
The Associated Press reported that the National Weather Service had downgraded Debby to a tropical depression late Thursday afternoon and considered it a post-tropical cyclone Friday.
Stanly County Schools delayed the start of the 2024-2025 school year from Thursday until Monday due to possible flooding associated with the storm.
Students in staggered starts begin a number of days later than when they were originally scheduled to start, according to information shared at the school board’s meeting Tuesday. Students originally scheduled to start on Friday start this Tuesday, for example.
SCS athletic events were also postponed, including the inaugural football jamboree at North Stanly High School in which all four high schools were to participate.
Gray Stone Day School, which began classes on Wednesday, had remote learning on Thursday due to the tropical storm.
Another postponement happened in Oakboro. Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance was to visit Charlotte Pipe and Foundry and offer remarks to the press on Thursday, according to the campaign’s website. The campaign reports that the event will be rescheduled.