Preparations
On August 13, 2004, a tropical storm watch was issued for Cape Fear, southward to South Carolina. The watch was extended northward to Oregon Inlet later that day; the watch further extended to Chincoteague, Virginia. The tropical storm watch from Cape Lookout to Oregon Inlet was changed to a hurricane warning. A hurricane watch was subsequently put into effect for coastal areas from Oregon Inlet to the North Carolina/Virginia border, although by August 15 all advisories were discontinued. Flood watches were also placed into effect for portions of the state.
Governor Mike Easley declared a state of emergency in advance of the storm, and 200 National Guard troops were dispatched to Charlotte, Raleigh, Kinston and Lumerton, while 800 more were on standby. On Ocracoke Island, authorities ordered mandatory evacuations, while on Bogue Banks voluntary evacuations were in place. Officials in Wrightsville Beach drove along the streets with loudspeakers mounted on trucks, warning tourists that a storm was approaching. The storm forced the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to suspend a planned opening for students moving in to residence halls. Campgrounds at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore were closed by the National Park Service and three boat ramps were closed. Duke Power Co. prepared for Charley by lowering the level of hydroelectric lakes to make room for excessive rainfall. The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources advised hog farmers to pump out their waste lagoon. About 60 Red Cross shelters were opened during the storm and during the peak of Charley, and roughly 1,600 people sought protection.
Read more about this topic: Effects Of Hurricane Charley In North Carolina
Famous quotes containing the word preparations:
“At the ramparts on the cliff near the old Parliament House I counted twenty-four thirty-two-pounders in a row, pointed over the harbor, with their balls piled pyramid-wise between them,—there are said to be in all about one hundred and eighty guns mounted at Quebec,—all which were faithfully kept dusted by officials, in accordance with the motto, “In time of peace prepare for war”; but I saw no preparations for peace: she was plainly an uninvited guest.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In all the important preparations of the mind she was complete; being prepared for matrimony by an hatred of home, restraint, and tranquillity; by the misery of disappointed affection, and contempt of the man she was to marry. The rest might wait. The preparations of new carriages and furniture might wait for London and the spring, when her own taste could have fairer play.”
—Jane Austen (1775–1817)
“The most evident difference between man and animals is this: the beast, in as much as it is largely motivated by the senses and with little perception of the past or future, lives only for the present. But man, because he is endowed with reason by which he is able to perceive relationships, sees the causes of things, understands the reciprocal nature of cause and effect, makes analogies, easily surveys the whole course of his life, and makes the necessary preparations for its conduct.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)