More than 350 National Guard soldiers, airmen activated in North Carolina ahead of Tropical Storm Debby, governor says
(WGHP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and the State Emergency Response Team addressed Wednesday how the state is getting ready as Tropical Storm Debby threatens to bring dangerous flooding.
As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, Debby is moving slowly northeastward off the South Carolina coast. Debby is currently around 50 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and is moving northeast at 4 mph.
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Wednesday night through Thursday morning, Tropical Storm Debby is expected to move across eastern South Carolina, approaching the border of North Carolina. During the day Thursday and through Friday, Tropical Storm Debby will continue to move across southern and central North Carolina.
Cooper says the state has activated more than 350 soldiers and airmen from the North Carolina National Guard, and the State Emergency Response Team has activated 17 swift water rescue teams to be staged across central and eastern North Carolina.
“There have already been fatalities reported across Florida, Georgia and South Carolina where response efforts are ongoing, and our prayers are with our southern neighbors, Cooper said.
The governor warned North Carolinians to take the story seriously and prepare, especially for residents of low-lying areas.
“We are anticipating major impacts from flooding across portions of the state rainfall and these amounts can flood homes and businesses, erode and damage roadways and may create situations in which local officials may need to order evacuations to ensure public safety,” Cooper said.
The governor says the state has been able to learn from its experiences with hurricanes Florence and Matthew. Since then, Cooper says the state has “worked to rebuild in a more resilient way.”
“Many of the homes that have been repaired and replaced are now elevated and more resilient,” Cooper said. “We have had areas of our state that we’ve just simply decided not to rebuild and using those areas that created parks and other catch basins that can help absorb floodwater and prevent other areas from being flooded.”
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