After wreaking havoc in the Carolinas, a weakened Hurricane Florence – now classified as a tropical depression – continues to move up the East Coast, producing heavy rains and flash flooding.
Meanwhile, credit unions in the battered Carolinas are assessing damage and getting back to work.
At Raleigh, N.C.-based State Employees’ Credit Union – one of the nation’s largest CUs – EVP Leigh Brady told CU Journal via email that the credit union did sustain some damage, and “about 20 branches are closed or operating on a modified schedule today,” including 200 ATMs down.
At $721 million-asset Marine FCU in Jacksonville, N.C. all systems have been “impacted” by the storm, and the CU reported that online banking and most of its ATMs were down.
“Our systems are still not fully operational due to severe damage. However, use of debit cards at non-Marine FCU ATMs will work,” the credit union added. “Both debit and credit cards will continue to work for purchases while we're down. We are working diligently to restore our systems.”
Marine FCU further advised that “many of our own employees were trapped or evacuated, and faced the same uncertainty.”
For now, Marine FCU has set up a mobile ATM set up at its corporate headquarters on Western Boulevard in Jacksonville, N.C.
Meanwhile, Coastal CU, also based in Raleigh, experienced “just a few minor leaks,” with “no damage at any of our branches,” according to Joe Mecca, VP of communications.
Normal operations have resumed at the CU’s headquarters and all locations except its Crabtree branch.
“We kept that one closed today just as a precaution,” he explained. “It’s in a flood-prone area, but that area hasn’t actually flooded. We anticipate being able to re-open it tomorrow.”
Mecca further indicated that Coastal managed to keep its teller services available all weekend through its video teller network. “One branch lost power and one was sealed up in case of flooding, but the rest were able to handle member transaction each day,” he stated. “Overall, we dodged the worst of the storm, but our team did an amazing job of making sure employees were safe, and that member service impact was minimal.”
In addition, Mecca said they closed almost 1,800 teller transactions from Friday to Sunday.
“So, members were still coming out to branches for service, and were highly appreciative of the staff that was available to assist them,” he added.
SAFE and sound
While the Carolinas sustained the brunt of the storm, it also impacted Virginia, however Lewis Wood, VP of public relations and communications at the Virginia Credit Union League, told CU Journal “to date, we have been very fortunate in Virginia. We have not received any reports of significant damage to credit union branches or facilities.”
The worst of the storm, Wood noted, missed the Virginia coastline. “Now however, flood warnings are in effect across a large portion of southern and western North Carolina, portions of far northeast South Carolina and southwest Virginia” he added. “We continue to monitor the situation and our thoughts and prayers are with our neighbors in the Carolinas, who still face dangerous flood conditions.”
In Sumter, S.C., SAFE Federal Credit Union is open for normal business hours today and can boast that it raised a significant amount of money for hurricane relief efforts before the storm even hit.
By selling emergency lanterns originally purchased for an event later this month, SAFE collected $18,000 prior to Florence making landfall.
“We saw this as an opportunity to help our members preparing for the coming storm while also providing financial support for those facing its aftermath in the weeks to come,” said Toby Hayes, SAFE’s vice president of marketing. “It has been a win-win that came together very quickly.”
Myrtle Beach, S.C.-based Carolina Trust FCu announced plans to open all branches for normal business hours Monday, but added the caveat that “if conditions are not safe for our employees or our members, we will open branches [only] as conditions permit.”
Furthermore, depending on the nature of the storm, the credit union added that online and mobile banking as well as E-Z Teller phone banking service may not be operational. In addition, ATM services at seven branches are not available.
As usually happens after a natural disaster, CUs in the region are already stepping in to assist members impacted by the storm. Among them is North Charleston, S.C.-based CPM Federal Credit Union, which is offering members up to $5,000 in disaster relief personal loans. The loans are priced at 5.99 percent APR for up to 36 months, with no payment due for the first 60 days.
