Of the 144-unit Kinston Towers, 80-90 residents are waiting out repairs at local hotels through at least the weekend.
The Kinston Housing Authority initially placed about 80 residents, while KHA Executive Director Rhonda Abbott said a few more that were staying with family have requested rooms.
“They are doing fine,” Abbott said. “They are in hotels — they are in place. We’ve got meals scheduled starting (Thursday night), through the Red Cross — the Red Cross and Salvation Army are going to provide meals for lunch and dinner at least for the next few days, and maybe the whole time that they’re out.”
Abbott said the KHA is also chipping in with some groceries, and staff has been available to help residents into the smoke-damaged building to retrieve personal belongings.
“We have bought them little bags of groceries that we have taken over — the Housing Authority took them all a bag of items to make sure they have food,” Abbott said. “Everything is going pretty good for the situation.”
American Red Cross Regional Director for Disaster Services David Garrison said people are checking in with each person as repairs to the Kinston Towers continue.
“We’ve got several teams of caseworkers — most of those are volunteers — that are actually going from client to client and they are going to see everyone to see if there are any additional needs they have,” Garrison said. “I know one of the needs they have, especially for the ones on the lower floors, was cleaning their clothes, because they all smell like smoke.
“The last I heard, they were trying to work through a laundry in town to do as far as that goes.”
Garrison said the Salvation Army would take care of lunches through Saturday, while the Red Cross handled dinners and both meals on Sunday.
Abbott said the initial estimate of repairs is still three-10 days, but workers continue to assess damage to the structure.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.