Although Hurricane Matthew was gone and the sun was shining on the Cape Fear region Monday, some businesses and residents were still coping with the storm’s effects, including power outages and the potential for more flooding.

In a conference call Monday afternoon, Duke Energy officials said 272,000 North Carolina customers were without power, down from 1.2 million Saturday night. Of those, a little over 14,000 were in New Hanover County as of about 3:40 p.m., according to Duke Energy’s power outage map.

More than 7,000 people, with thousands more on the way, are working for Duke Energy on electricity restoration efforts, said David Fountain, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president.

“The storm hit us really hard. Unfortunately, we’ll all remember Hurricane Matthew in much the same way we remember hurricanes Fran, Floyd and Hugo,” Fountain said.

As of 3 p.m., the company's power outage map showed a restoration time of 11:45 a.m. Sunday for New Hanover County customers who were still without power, but some of those customers, if not all, could be getting their electricity back much sooner, Duke Energy officials said during the conference call.

"We know how important it is to get people back to normal and what you're going to see happen today  . . .  and with each passing day, those times of restoration are going to start being pulled in sooner," said Bobby Simpson, Duke Energy storm director.

For Duke Energy, Brunswick and Pender counties and Wilmington were among the hardest hit areas. 

"We have lots of trees down, broken poles, and road access issues," Simpson said.

Local government officials throughout the tri-county region continued to keep an eye on areas of potential flooding along the region's rivers.

"The area remains under a Hazardous Weather Outlook from the National Weather Service, as residual flooding from rainfall in inland areas is expected to cause area rivers to remain above flood stage through Sunday," said a Brunswick County news release on Monday afternoon. "Citizens should continue to use caution when encountering flood waters, and should be mindful of water on the roads when driving."

According to one of Pender County Emergency Management's emergency news posts Monday afternoon, the Black River was rising "very fast (More than Floyd)," and the Northeast Cape Fear River "is coming up and expected to crest Friday at 15.8 Ft."

Meanwhile, business and life returned to normal in some cases Monday. Flight schedules at Wilmington International Airport had resumed, after 24 arrivals and 28 departures were canceled from Friday night to Sunday because of the storm, said Gary Broughton, deputy director of the airport.

Despite flooding that had occurred during the storm on Yacht Basin Drive in Southport, at least one of the businesses there, Fishy Fishy Cafe, had already opened for customers on Sunday, said Karen Sphar, executive vice president of the Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce.

She said the Southport-Oak Island area had not seen the same level of structural damage from Hurricane Matthew that had resulted from storms like Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Fran.  

"I think the inland flooding and trying to get here – those issues will have a large impact on people coming," Sphar said.

The potential impact of inland flooding on travel is also a concern for the Wilmington and Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau, which is operated by the New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority.

Officials are hoping roads to the region will be open and safe for fall tourists who come to fish and take advantage of less crowded, yet still warm, beaches. 

"What we're going to be doing is focusing our in-state messaging on letting people know that we are open for business," said Kim Hufham, president and CEO of the New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority. "We're hoping that we'll still continue to have a good fall season."

Parts of I-95 and I-40, along with roads throughout the state, were closed Monday afternoon as a result of flooding, and the road closures were also having an impact on efforts to restore power, Duke Energy officials said.