Alex Floyd has long used Facebook to promote Pembroke.
Floyd, the director of the city’s Downtown Development Authority, is now using it to help keep residents updated on Irma, which settled in overnight Sunday and has brought plenty of wind and rain.
Monday morning, Floyd, who has turned the Downtown Development Authority of Pembroke Page into almost a must-read for the city’s residents, asked for a roll call of area residents, asking them for names, location and “current situation.”
He got more than 70 responses in less than two hours. Answers came from Pembroke, Black Creek, Blitchton and unincorporated areas of North Bryan. They came from as far away as Seneca, S.C., and Ashville, North Carolina – presumably from local people who evacuated.
Some, like Amanda Roberts, of Black Creek, reported power outages and downed trees.
Others, like Cody Bacon of Bacon Town, said things were fine. “Watched my third episode of MASH this morning,” Bacon posted.
For Floyd, the response shows how tight-knit his hometown is, and how well its weathering the storm.
“People seemed eager to communicate this morning and hear some news,” said Floyd, who once held a Bring Your Own Bubbles day near Pembroke City Hall just to have some fun and blow some bubbles.
He said he got out Monday morning and drove a lap around the city. His take? Pembroke “is looking good, for a swamp,” but “based on social media response our power situation is OK.”
So is the DDA’s Facebook page, which Floyd said has picked up an additional 200 followers since Wednesday. What he’s seeing on the page is what he said he’s always known.
“Pembroke is resilient and events like this only bring us closer,” Floyd said.