Governor Cooper Urges North Carolinians to Follow Evacuation Orders, Finish Preparations in Advance of Hurricane Dorian | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH: Gov. Roy Cooper today issued a mandatory evacuation order for North Carolina's barrier islands and advised North Carolinians to complete their preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian, he also. Evacuation orders for coastal counties were also put in place by local governments, and Governor Cooper today urged people to follow these directives.

    "Please heed any evacuation orders from local emergency officials where you live," said Governor Cooper. "Don't try to ride it out. You're putting your life at risk. You're also putting at risk the lives of first responders who may have to rescue you."

    Local governments in some coastal counties began to issue evacuation orders today for visitors and residents to allow time for people to get to safety. A large state shelter in Durham will help support county shelters.

    The Governor requested a federal disaster declaration yesterday for North Carolina ahead of the storm, which if granted, will make federal response and recovery aid available to our state.

    To help with storm response, more than 300 North Carolina National Guard soldiers are moving into positions today in armories across the state. Water rescue teams are also deploying today to staging areas closer to the coast. The Highway Patrol and Department of Transportation are working to help evacuating motorists and to keep roads safe.

    Now is the time to complete final storm preparations:

• Have multiple ways to receive weather information from reliable sources,
• Know your evacuation routes and review your emergency plan,
• Stock an emergency supply kit, which should contain food, water, prescription medicines, charging cords, batteries and other essentials to support your family for several days,

    The latest storm information can be found on the state's Hurricane Dorian website (https://www.ncdps.gov/dorian2019), on Twitter @NCEmergency and Facebook. Visit DriveNC.gov for traffic conditions statewide.

    Real-time traffic, weather and preparedness information is also available via the ReadyNC mobile app, available for free for iPhones and Android devices.

• Contact: Ford Porter
•     govpress@nc.gov