Hurricane Florence: Beaufort County EMS - September 10, 2018 | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release

    Hurricane Florence is a major threat to our county. Although, it is too early to know the exact track of this hurricane, we are expecting a huge impact to our community. I cannot express to you enough; this storm should be taken seriously.

    Beaufort County staff and The Beaufort County Sherriff's Office have been diligently monitoring the progress of this storm and are continuing to implement plans in accordance with our counties emergency operation plan.

    Hurricane Florence is currently a category 3 and is expected to be a category 4 hurricane by landfall. Even though we are uncertain as to the exact landfall location, the size of this storm will affect our community beginning Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. Currently there are storm surge predictions possible of 7' to 9', and a potential rainfall depending on the exact track of up to 15" to 20 "s of rain, with an extremely large wind field that will again affect our county regardless of where the storm makes landfall.

    Beaufort County Board of Commissioners will be issuing a State of Emergency for Beaufort County at 17:30 hours, and this state of emergency will remain in effect until further notice.

    We have been advised by the National Weather Service that regardless of where Hurricane Florence makes landfall, Beaufort County will likely experience category 4 storm conditions. In light of this, we are issuing a voluntary county-wide evacuation. Weather conditions are expected to remain calm through the day on Wednesday, and steadily worsen through Wednesday night into Thursday. We are urging all occupants of Beaufort County to evacuate out of the county, and out of the path of the storm by sunset on Wednesday evening.

    For information about what you should bring with you while evacuating please visit readync.org. Here you can find a vast amount of information about weather, evacuation routes, and what you should take when evacuating. In short, when you evacuate, you should carry clothes, medical supplies, and personal items needed for up to a seven day stay. If you have pets, please remember they need to be evacuated as well.

    Again, Beaufort County Government is issuing a voluntary evacuation for all residents of Beaufort County, and we are asking you to evacuate prior to sunset on Wednesday evening out of the potential path of the storm. Emergency Service officials, and the Sherriff's Office will continue to monitor our county, and monitor potential changes from this threat, and will update you when we have further information.

    Contact:    Lisa R. Williams
       Emergency Management Planning & Mitigation Specialist

    Lisa.Williams@co.beaufort.nc.us  •  252-946-2046 Office  •  252-940-6510 Direct

    1420 Highland Drive
    Washington, NC 27889