North Carolina coastal communities have been scrambling to pack up and get out before Hurricane Florence hits.
Carolina Beach, N. C. — North Carolina coastal communities have been scrambling to pack up and get out before Hurricane Florence hits.
Businesses on the Carolina Beach Boardwalk boarded up Monday and were working on putting sandbags down on Tuesday.
Gov. Roy Cooper issued the first state evacuation order in memory in North Carolina, telling people on the state’s barrier islands to leave ahead of the hurricane.
«This storm is a monster. It’s big, and it’s vicious,» Cooper said. «Even if you’ve ridden out storms before, this one is different. Don’t bet your life on riding out a monster.»
Kenneth Porter is one of a few people at Carolina Beach that said they planned to stay back.
«I was born and raised right here. I’m a local. And it takes a little more than the storm to run us out,» he said.
Porter was not alone. Jim Reynolds said he also plans to stick it out.
«I’ve had my kitty cats for eight years. I ain’t parting with them,» he said.
About 20 miles north, Wrightsville Beach is home for John and Elaine Andrews. The couple has owned the South Beach Grill for 21 years. They say boarding it up as protection from Hurricane Florence is as emotional as protecting a child.
«It’s everything we own. Everything we have is in this business,» Elaine Andrews said. «We’ve been through Fran, Bertha, Floyd, Matthew and all in the house five minutes away. Either that house or one smaller but always no more than five minutes away.»
The couple said they do not plan to go far, but they couple said they don’t have a good gut feeling about Florence.
«If it goes, this is everything we have – the house and this business – and it’s all here,» she said.
Business owners were also seen boarding up windows in Dare County on Tuesday.
«You never really know how much wind you’re going to get, whether you need the plywood or not, but we are not taking a chance on the oceanfront this time,» said Ken Simpler, owner of the Surf Side Hotel in Nags Head.
The other priority is getting out. The exodus that started Monday thinned a bit as vacationers and locals took U. S. Highway 64 and U. S. Highway 264 away from the coast.
Boaters were also on the move, pulling their crafts to safety. Laurin Milton left a building inspection conference to head back to Durham.
«We’re hoping that it will be better inland, but the forecast shows it could be worse inland than here on the Outer Banks,» she said.
«We just pray that the people here around the area are safe,» said Jim Lins, who was in the area from Baltimore.
