MORGANTON, N.C. — The emergency operations team in Burke County met with fire departments on Friday ahead of the possibility of heavy rain on Monday.
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Channel 9’s Dave Faherty reported from Morganton where swift water rescue teams prepared.
This comes as some residents are moving back into their homes after the devastation from Helene one year ago.
At the Oak Hill Fire Department, firefighters checked their swift water rescue gear and boats. They’ve also ensured their chainsaws are ready in case there is any tree damage.
Faherty was at the Burke County 911 center as the county manager and the head of Burke Emergency Services spoke with fire departments across the county about the storm in the Atlantic.
The concern is that it could make landfall in the Carolinas and bring heavy rain inland, including in the Foothills and the mountains.
“We don’t have a knee-jerk reaction, but we also don’t want to look at the as just another rain event that’s coming, if there’s the potential for severe weather,” said director James Robinson, Burke County Emergency Services.
Resident Tom Starnes and his wife just moved back into their home in Morganton after it was damaged by flooding from Helene.
“I hope it stays way out there in the Atlantic Ocean,” Starnes said. “We don’t want any part of it. I assure you.”
Rhonda Gosnell showed Faherty on Friday how high the water from the Catawba River got inside her hair salon one year ago.
She finally got to move back in five months after the hurricane and is keeping an eye on the weather this weekend.
“Because we now know what can happen, I’m thinking and praying that it’s not likely, so I’m hoping (it’s not going to happen),’” said Gosnell, Salon 337.
Burke County officials said they will monitor the storm over the weekend and will be prepared to open shelters if necessary.
VIDEO: ‘A long road’: Single mom turns pain into positivity after Hurricane Helene wipes out community
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