Communities along the Gulf Coast are preparing for Hurricane Isaias to make landfall Friday evening, and North Carolina officials have announced a storm response plan.
Many Florida residents are evacuating before the storm hits. Thousands of cars are sitting on the interstate around Pensacola waiting to leave the state.
Isaias will likely bring heavy rainfall, flash flooding and severe weather to North Carolina, especially to areas like Wilmington and Western North Carolina.
Meanwhile, emergency crews in North Carolina are preparing for impacts on our state.
“Our urban search and rescue teams have been placed on a state mission order in key locations Saturday, just to make sure they’re ready for a quick response,” said Justin Graney with the North Carolina Emergency Department.
Isaias could also spawn a tornado like Hurricane Helene did two years ago in Rocky Mount.
Businesses are still recovering today. An auto repair shop was completely leveled after sustaining severe damage and Chinese restaurant Hing Ta is still closed for repairs.
Mexican restaurant El Tapatio reopened about a month ago after a two-year-long recovery process, including rebuilding to brick walls that collapsed.
WRAL spoke with El Tapatio general manager Juan Aguilar who says he was there when the tornado hit the restaurant. He says there were about 50 people inside at the time and no one was hurt.
Aguilar says he prays no tornado comes from Isaias but he says staff have talked about the possibility.
“There’s nothing we can do against mother nature,” Aguilar said. “We said that if we saw anything suspicious like we did last time or if we hear the warning let’s not wait until it happens let’s just all rush into the restroom.”
While experts say this storm shouldn’t hit North Carolina like Hurricane Helene, they are preparing for the worst.
The best way to prepare for the upcoming storm is to have a plan and gather emergency supplies.