Winter storm sends drivers into ditches across Duplin

Emergency officials report hazardous road conditions but no serious injuries following historic weekend snowfall

The historic snowfall in Duplin County over the weekend left many drivers learning a hard lesson about attempting to drive in hazardous conditions, despite repeated warnings to stay off the roads, according to Brian Matthis, Duplin County Public Safety deputy director.

“There have been a lot of vehicles run off into ditches where they can’t see where the road is,” Matthis said Monday afternoon in an interview with Duplin Journal.

While slippery roads left many drivers stranded, there have been no reports of serious injuries.

“As far as motor vehicle collisions with injuries, I don’t know of any,” Matthis said.

Fortunately, the area experienced snow rather than an ice storm. As a result, there were no reports of trees down across the county, Matthis said.

Although the emergency management office does not receive specific calls for frozen pipes, Matthis said he had heard anecdotal reports of residents without water after temperatures plunged into the single digits overnight Monday. Tow truck drivers and plumbers are expected to be busy in the aftermath of the storm.

Several banks and stores in the county closed Monday, though most grocery stores remained open. Walmart in Wallace opened at noon after closing in the morning, and the U.S. Post Office in Wallace remained open.

The county-wide curfew that started on Jan. 31 at sunset was rescinded on Monday, while other provisions of the county state of emergency for unincorporated areas established on Jan. 30 remained in effect to support public safety and ongoing response for recovery operations. Duplin County Schools implemented an asynchronous remote learning day on Tuesday and Wednesday to ensure safety for students and staff.