Jones County officials meet to prepare for hurricane season

TRENTON, NC (WNCT) – It’s hurricane season and counties in eastern North Carolina are continuing their efforts to prepare and protect their communities.

Over in Jones County, officials were meeting to discuss how they’re preparing and how the state is getting involved. For state and local leaders, making sure their residents are safe during severe weather is a top priority. Leaders from across Jones County met at the Jones County Civic Center to discuss their action plans.

“We’re as prepared as probably any county around us,” said emergency dispatcher Timmy Pike. “We’ve done a lot to improve our preparation and Florence taught us a lot of lessons.”

Pike said some of the discussions related to housing, which includes the county civic center.

“We need to make sure our shelters are adequately stocked,” Pike said. “We have food on hand for everything and everyone that we should accommodate.”

There have also been discussions about isolation between towns in the county due to flooding.

“We have enough staff to cover those areas and make sure everyone stays safe,” Pike said.

Officials with North Carolina’s Eastern Branch of Emergency Management said the county has come a long way to improve its resilience, but they will be there to help.

“If it looks like a storm might be heading our way, we will be in touch with all of our county emergency managers to see if they need resources, what they think, if there are any trouble spots and all the great lessons, that we learned from previous storms, Florence, Isaias, Dorian…” said Diane Curtis, NC Emergency Management Eastern Branch Manager.

Curtis added that during a storm, residents are still encouraged to be prepared and self-sufficient for 72 hours while emergency services take precautions.

Click here for more information on Jones County hurricane preparedness.