More than 1,000 men and women incarcerated at prisons in North Carolina’s western mountains have been evacuated over the past two days and relocated to at least 10 different prisons across the state.

The North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections reports that all offenders are safe, but evacuations became necessary at three facilities due to the long timeframes for water and power restoration.

On Tuesday, 841 men at Avery-Mitchell Correctional Institution in Spruce Pine were transferred to seven different North Carolina facilities. The evacuation began Tuesday morning and the last buses arrived at their new locations Tuesday night. The relocation facilities are in Maury, Nashville, Tabor City, Troy, Laurinburg, and Lillington. 

Approximately 400 women were evacuated on Monday from the Western Correctional Center for Women in Swannanoa. Residents of the Black Mountain Substance Abuse Treatment Center for Women were also moved. NCDAC made the decision Sunday based on damage to water and electrical infrastructure serving the facilities and the expected long timeframe for restoration. Buses transported offenders to new locations by Monday evening, which include facilities in Polkton, Raleigh, and Lexington.

“The facilities we are evacuating are not damaged and were not flooded – but there’s no water and power service in the surrounding areas, and there’s a long timeframe for water and power restoration,” said Keith Acree, communications director at NCDAC. “We can’t continue to operate those facilities long-term on generator power and bottled water.”

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The duration of the relocations depends on the time it takes to restore water and power at the facilities. 

Acree told the Carolina Journal that the agency is not new to evacuating prisons. NCDAC has managed evacuations several times before, typically at its eastern facilities during hurricanes. 

“All offenders in storm-impacted prisons are safe, and NCDAC is taking appropriate steps to ensure continued health and safety of all staff and offenders,” the state agency said in a press release. “Family and friends are asked not to call the prisons to check on a loved one. Relocated offenders will be able to make phone calls after they arrive at their destinations.”

Staff from the evacuating facilities sometimes go along if they’re not personally affected by storm damage or other issues at home to help support the shift at transfer facilities. Employees from other state prisons also help supplement staffing at the receiving facilities to help manage the increased population.