Some former Michiganders are preparing for Florence.
When you talk to folks in the Carolinas, they say Hurricane Matthew left the area devastated back in 2016. Now, they’re being told Florence is going to be worse.
Some former Michiganders now living in the area where the storm is going to hit are prepping their homes before evacuating.
Ted Mitchell is preparing for the worst.
“When a hurricane happens you have a little bit of an advanced notice,” he says.
He used to live in the western part of Michigan but is now living on the beach in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
His partner, Sara, and son, Lincoln, have already evacuated, making their way back home.
Ted spent the morning getting the house ready for floods and high winds before heading to stay with his best friend in Maryland.
“Everything was tied down; nothing was going to fly around,” he said. “Covered stuff in plastic and things like that and just turned the power off and went and grabbed my dog and our important documents and our computer and headed to Baltimore.”
Woody Breisch spent most of his life in Royal Oak before moving to Myrtle Beach 12 years ago.
“We’ve always had to live with that fear of these hurricanes,” he said.
But this might be his last hurricane season there. This storm will be the deciding factor if he moves back to Michigan.
“If I go back and that city is devastated, and it’s more damaged than I can handle, in my own mind, I’m turning around and coming back,” he says.
Emily Butler moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina in July.
She said, “I’ve never been anywhere that had hurricanes before.”
Butler is staying behind with her dogs. She is concerned about flooding and wind damage.
She said it’s getting harder to get her hands on much-needed supplies.
“I went to seven different stores yesterday, and there was no water there. Gas stations and dollar stores are all out of water. I have a couple of cases; I hope that lasts for me and my dogs.”
Woody talked to us as he made his way to Nashville. He doesn’t know when he’s going to go back.
Ted says he will stay in Baltimore and hopefully return to asses the damage by the end of the weekend.
