Update 9.13: Hurricane Florence Information and Resources

Key Points:

(1) The anticipated track of the storm has shifted south. This is a better situation for the Triangle than we have seen predicted over the last few days, but we are still expecting extreme weather. North Carolina will still be subject to flooding, storm surges, and heavy winds.

(2) The Triangle area is still at risk of flooding along rivers and ravines as well as in areas with poor draining. Check to see if your home or if the homes of family and friends are within a flood zone by looking up your address here (more tools available below). If you are in a flood risk area, plan to find alternative housing at the home of a friend or family member.

(3) It is still likely that the Triangle will experience high winds and extremely powerful gusts. Plan ahead for the possibility of losing power for multiple days.

11:00am Update from NHC Director Ken Graham

https://www.facebook.com/NWSNHC/videos/328321911272704/

Source: NOAA NWS National Hurricane Center Facebook

Comments on Preparation from Dr. Gavin Smith:

I’m writing to all of you about the oncoming storm and a range of things you should be doing now to prepare for it. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the storm won’t impact Chapel Hill. While the track, associated winds, and rain are still uncertain, things are shaping up to be a bad combination of very strong inland winds and extreme rainfall. In some ways it looks like a combined punch we experienced in 1996 with Fran (high inland winds led to power outages of up to a week in Chapel Hill and 2 weeks in Raleigh) and Floyd which had torrential rain, inundating the eastern third of the state. Florence will have the high inland winds AND heavy rainfall as a high pressure ridge looks like it will block the storms movement once it makes landfall and rain may inundate the North Carolina Piedmont for 3 or 4 days.

Here are a few things all of you should do:

1) Pay close attention to the situation via the National Hurricane Center, Local News, and the Weather Channel.

2) Consider moving your car to an area that is safe from falling trees and branches and/or avoid being blocked in your driveway. Parking decks and parking lots are an option (OUTSIDE OF THE FLOODPLAIN) to park your car if they are protected from flying debris.

3) Check to see where your home is located relative to the 100 and 500 year floodplain (for instance, Booker Creek is notorious for flooding). This can be done by logging into the NC Flood Information Management System (FIMAN), which has aerial imagery and digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps superimposed over one another.

4) Sleep and/or hang out on a first floor if in a 2 story home (falling trees can slice through homes). If this is not an option, the center of a home or apartment is best.

5) Check out ready.gov (as suggested on the UNC website for prep tips).

6) Fill clean containers with water in case the water system goes down (I do this as opposed to buying all those plastic water bottles, which you may have seen are rapidly selling out).

7) Buy foods you don’t have to cook or refrigerate and have a manual can opener at the ready. If you have a gas stove, you’re in luck. If you have a grill, buy another propane take and grill all the stuff in your fridge before it thaws (great way to meet your neighbors). Use batteries and NOT candles as a light source.

While this may sound a bit over the top, its always better to be overprepared than the reverse. While power outages are likely to be widespread, you never know who will and won’t have power.

– Dr. Gavin Smith, Research Professor, Director of the Department of Homeland Security Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence