North Carolina Emergency Management prepares for Hurricane Erin

AccuWeather

Justin Graney from the North Carolina Emergency Management gives safety tips to those on the coast that will be impacted by Hurricane Erin.

Transcript

00:00Joining us is Justin Graney, Chief of Affairs and Communications for North Carolina Emergency

00:06Management. Sir, thank you so much for joining us today. We've seen local reports of nearly 85

00:13rip current rescues already this week. This includes 60 at Wrightsville Beach alone on Monday,

00:20according to the National Weather Service. What can you tell us about how lifeguards and first

00:25responders are handling this surge? We did see record numbers, and good morning. We did see

00:31record numbers of rescues along the North Carolina coast, and it's important for those visiting our

00:37beautiful North Carolina beaches to remember that there is a rip current threat. It is in place now.

00:42It is going to extend through the rest of the week. It's probably safest to stay out of the water

00:47and make sure that you're following the advice of local officials at each beach that you're visiting.

00:52How are state officials working with local officials in coastal counties like DARE and

00:57New Hanover to manage flooding, evacuations, and beach safety?

01:01Yes, the state emergency response team began preparations late last week as soon as forecast

01:06models began to show that there could be impacts to our North Carolina coast. The state emergency

01:11response team is active today. We are working very closely with local emergency management authorities.

01:17We've pre-deployed and are staging various assets to include strategic communications equipment,

01:23three North Carolina search and rescue teams with a swift water capability, three North Carolina urban

01:30search and rescue teams with the capability for water rescue, structural collapse response,

01:35and wide area searches in case it's needed, and approximately 165 North Carolina National Guardsmen

01:41with about 30 vehicles that have high water capability are pre-deploying today and will

01:46be in position before the worst of Aaron's impacts are felt beginning tomorrow. We did see evacuation orders

01:53in DARE and Hyde County, particularly from Nags Head South along the Outer Banks into Ocracoke Island.

02:00Visitors to the North Carolina coast should heed those evacuation warnings as well as residents in those areas.

02:07We're expecting life-threatening impacts, dangerous waves, storm surge, inland flooding. We need to make

02:14sure that people in those impacted areas are listening to local emergency management authorities and are

02:20evacuating those areas. And there is a state-operated shelter now open in Warren County, North Carolina,

02:26inland from any of the impacts, and that information can be found on readync.gov slash Aaron.

02:33With college students and other visitors crowding Wrightsville Beach and surrounding areas, what is

02:38your message to newcomers who may not know ocean safety rules?

02:45A condition can change very quickly, especially when you're dealing with tropical weather. You need

02:48to make sure that you're informed that you're getting information from reputable sources like the

02:53National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, local emergency management, and trusted media

02:58like AccuWeather. We want to make sure that people have the right information to make the right

03:02decisions to protect themselves and their families. If you've been through one hurricane or one tropical

03:07storm, you've only been through one hurricane or tropical storm. Each one is unique with different

03:12threats and different conditions. So you need to make sure you have the right information to make

03:16a plan to make sure that you can keep yourself and your family safe.

03:19Yeah, that's good messaging. All right, final question. What practical steps should North

03:22Carolina residents and visitors take now to stay safe both on the roads and in the water

03:27as Hurricane Aaron impacts the coast?

03:30So again, if you can stay out of the water, stay out of the water. If you're traveling in the next

03:35couple of days and you come across any flooded roadways, turn around, don't drown. We don't need

03:40people driving through water. Every storm we're seeing people that are hurt or killed because they

03:44drove into floodwaters, it's dangerous and you can't tell the depth from inside your vehicle.

03:49Make sure that you have a plan, that you're getting good information, like I just stated.

03:53Make sure you have your go bag and your disaster kit ready to go with commodities, food, water,

03:59important documents, your insurance documents, cash when you are leaving your home or your

04:05vacation property. There are two resources that I do want to hit on for those that are traveling on

04:10North Carolina roadways in the eastern part of the state or evacuating. You can visit drivenc.gov.

04:16That has the most up-to-date traffic information from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

04:21And again, if those that are visiting or living along our coast, you need to know your zone. Make

04:27sure that you're going to knowyourzone.nc.gov and that will tell you evacuation zones by area. That

04:33is what local authorities use to order evacuations. They do it by zone. So make sure that you're informed

04:38and you have the right information. Justin Graney, Chief of External Affairs and Communications

04:42for North Carolina Emergency Management. Thank you so much for your expertise this morning and for

04:46joining us here on AccuWeather Early. Thank you.

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