Governor’s office reports at least 4 North Carolina storm fatalities

RALEIGH, N.C. >> The remnants of Hurricane Ian downed trees and power lines across North Carolina, and authorities reported at least four fatalities Saturday connected to the severe weather.

In Johnston County, outside of Raleigh, a woman found her husband dead early Saturday morning after he went to check on a generator running in their garage overnight, sheriff’s office Capt. Jeff Caldwell said.

Carbon monoxide levels also were high inside the home, and the woman was checked out at a hospital, according to Caldwell.

Also in Johnston County, two young adults died in traffic collisions during stormy and wet conditions Friday, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said in a news release. In eastern North Carolina’s Martin County, a 22-year-old man drowned when his truck left the roadway and submerged in a flooded swamp, the news release said.

“We mourn with the families of those who have died and urge everyone to be cautious while cleaning up to avoid more deaths or injuries,” Cooper said in a statement.

The highway patrol responded to over 1,400 calls for service and 784 collisions between midnight Friday and early Saturday morning, a spokesman said. Not all were necessarily weather-related.

There were no initial reports of major structural damage, though nearly 73,000 people across the state were without power Saturday evening, according to a state outage map. That was down from over 330,000 earlier in the day.

The National Weather Service warned that hazardous conditions remained along the coast, including the possibility of flooding and rip currents.