Gov. Bev Perdue today sent a letter to President Barack Obama requesting a federal pre-landfall emergency declaration in anticipation of damages to North Carolina caused by Hurricane Irene.  The declaration opens federal assets to help government agencies respond to the potential disaster.  

If approved, the declaration also would allow North Carolina to gain federal financial support for emergency protective measures such as the use of the N.C. National Guard, State Highway Patrol, N.C. Department of Transportation, as well as the opening shelters and providing other resources as needed.

“Hurricane Irene is a large storm and expected to impact a number of our coastal counties,” Perdue said.  “We’ve had a history of hurricanes, and we want to be prepared with the necessary federal aid to completely recover from any significant damage.”  

Evacuations began yesterday for Ocracoke and started this morning on mainland Hyde and Dare and Currituck counties.

The pre-landfall emergency declaration request includes: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Tyrrell, Washington, Wayne and Wilson counties.

The governor declared a State of Emergency late Wednesday.  As part of the state’s preparations, Perdue activated 20 members of the National Guard today. About 160 more come on duty Friday and 2,300 are on standby.  Swift water rescue teams are on standby and available to assist if needed. Additionally, she has directed the State Highway Patrol to assist with evacuations ordered by local governments. The Highway Patrol activated 32 additional troopers today to assist with the storm and will activate 16 more tomorrow; 96 additional troopers have been placed on standby.  Members of the Civil Air Patrol will be monitoring coastal evacuations to provide quick response as needed.

At the state’s request, the Federal Emergency Management Agency pre-positioned personnel and emergency relief supplies in the state prior to the storm. State and federal damage assessment teams will be deployed throughout Eastern North Carolina following Hurricane Irene’s departure to determine if there is enough damage to qualify for federal assistance.

Shelters are open in Nash and Wilson counties now and more are expected to open in other counties later today and tomorrow morning. Residents in central and eastern North Carolina are reminded to monitor weather forecasts and heed directions of emergency officials.

All ferries are operating under their normal schedules today. There are boats on standby in case of emergency, and service is scheduled to resume in the morning.

For updates throughout the storm, follow North Carolina Emergency Management on Twitter @NCEmergency. Facebook at www.facebook.com/NCEmergencyManagement and on the Crime Control and Public Safety website at www.nccrimecontrol.org.