READY TO RIDE STORM OUT
Full impact expected today in Carolinas
While much of the Carolinas are empty as Hurricane Florence bears down for landfall today, some brave souls who stayed behind are riding out the storm.
“I grew up here my whole life — born and raised — and we have never left for a hurricane. We just prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Candice Dillard told the Herald. “We’ve always made it.”
Candice lives with her husband, Kevin Dillard, and their three children in Castle Hayne, N.C., just north of Wilmington. They stocked up on food, water and charged up all their electronic devices before the thick of the storm.
They have their cat, dog and goldfish with them, and their chickens are in the garage along with other items usually stored outside. Candice even stowed important documents sealed in plastic in their dishwasher because it’s waterproof and less likely to be moved.
“We’re a very faith-oriented family so we just pray and trust God,” Candice said.
The National Hurricane Center expected the slowmoving storm’s eye to blow ashore today around the North Carolina-South Carolina line. Officials say people refusing to evacuate could end up alone, drenched and in the dark, as rescue crews won’t go out to help in winds above 50 mph. Parts of the Carolinas could see 20 inches to 30 inches of rain, with isolated areas getting 40 inches, over seven days along the coast, with the storm surge up to 11 feet.
Duke Energy anticipates 1 million to 3 million homes and businesses losing power.
Tanisha Gupta, a senior at Elon University, is one of just 1,400 students who stayed behind out of the over 6,000 who attend the college in North Carolina, according to an email sent out to students.
“Campus is dead right now,” Tanisha told the Herald. “A significant amount have left but I feel pretty safe.”
Gupta has a handful of friends living in her on-campus apartment complex who are staying together during the storm. Student Life sent an emergency plan via email, laying out what they should do if and when a power outage occurs. Her parents live about 45 minutes away.
Her father, Neeraj “Raj” Gupta, is an associate finance professor at the university. He decided that it would be safer for her to stay at school while the rest of the family remains at their home in Chapel Hill.
“I’ve been at Elon for 11 years, I know it’s very well organized,” Raj said. “They plan well in advance and have been giving us frequent updates.”
Elon is over 200 miles inland, but people much closer to the coastline, like Elizabeth Barfield, have stayed put as well.
“I probably went a little bit crazy and bought a bunch of snacks, nonperishable items and stocked up on water and different medications,” Barfield said.
Barfield, staying up the road with her parents, went to a hardware store with her father earlier this week to buy a generator and found out that the store had ordered 400 extra because they were in such high demand.
“I would say this storm caused a lot more anxiety than any other in the past,” Barfield said. “Since Hurricane Hazel, we’ve never had the same projections as the current Hurricane Florence. The fear of the unknown has driven people to all different extreme measures.”
She works at a local hospital in the Wilmington area and said the staff has gone “to extreme measures” to make sure patients are taken care of. Since she doesn’t deliver direct patient care, Barfield won’t be called in, but there are various storm teams ready to work in the hospital and on the ground.
“(Patient) safety is of utmost importance,” Barfield said. “We have a great emergency management team over there.”