NEW HANOVER COUNTY: ABC stores to close Wednesday ahead of Dorian

Sep. 4--5:30 p.m. update: ABC stores to close Wednesday

NEW HANOVER COUNTY -- Hurricane Dorian's approach has prompted area ABC stores to announce that they will close their doors on Wednesday.

All of New Hanover County's ABC Stores will close at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, giving customers just one day to plan accordingly and stock up if its on their hurricane preparations list.

The Castle Hayne location is already closed until further notice.

The county said residents should monitor the website for any updates on closures and when they might reopen.

Brunswick County's two ABC stores in Belville will close at 6 p.m. Wednesday and remain closed Thursday.

-- Hunter Ingram

4:30 p.m.: The calm before the storm

CAROLINA BEACH -- Like many other communities in Southeastern North Carolina facing potential impacts from Hurricane Dorian in the coming days, Carolina Beach officials declared a state of emergency for the beach town on Tuesday afternoon. With that comes a mandatory evacuation order which begins at 8 a.m. Wednesday and is set to conclude by that evening.

"Our hope is that people will take this storm seriously," said Ed Parvin, interim town manager. "We do know that some residents will stay, but they should know that emergency response will be limited, especially during and after the storm."

Meanwhile, some businesses and homes had been boarded up in preparation for Dorian while other folks prepared for the hurricane's arrival.

Michael Rivenback, with Suburban Propane in Wilmington, was filling tanks on Pleasure Island.

"Sometimes it's just 8 or 10 gallons," he said. "People are worried they'll run out."

On the other side of Pleasure Island, park rangers at the Fort Fisher State Recreation area were preparing for the hurricane by removing picnic shelters and signs.

On Wednesday, they'll put up hurricane shutters.

"We will effectively be closed after 8 p.m. tonight," said Jeff Owen, superintendent for the park.

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The state park has seen a record number of sea turtle nests this year. Of the 159, about 100 had hatched.

"We've already seen many of the nests gone from a lot of washover from high tides," Owen said. "I'm not sure we'll have any left after this."

He said about 30 nests remain now.

-- Allison Ballard

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12:45 p.m. update: Mandatory evacuation of beach towns

NEW HANOVER COUNTY -- Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for all New Hanover County beaches starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Kure Beach and Figure Eight Island are all under the evacuation orders, which covers both residents and visitors. Additionally, residents in flood-prone areas of the county and Wilmington are under a voluntary evacuation order, also effective 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Steven Still, the county's emergency management director, said New Hanover's coastal areas could see up to 3 feet of stormsurge as Dorian passed by offshore, according to the current track.

"Timing of the impact for us is early morning hours of Thursday and we look to have those winds subside by Friday afternoon," he said.

While current forecasts show the area getting 4-10 inches of rain, he said stormsurge was one of the biggest potential concerns with Dorian.

"Currently we are looking at storm inundation of 1-3 feet and possibly higher in areas on barrier islands and low-lying areas," Still said. "It looks like this will not be the rain and flooding event of Florence, but we want all of our residents to be prepared."

The county also is opening two shelters at 10 a.m. Wednesday -- one at Codington Elementary on Carolina Beach Road and the other at Blair Elementary School on Market Street. Each shelter has about 100 beds, and Blair has been designated as the pet-friendly shelter.

"This is not the same type of rain event we saw with Hurricane Florence, but we have residents who are still in temporary housing or homes that can't yet withstand the impacts of another storm," New Hanover County Emergency Management Director Steven Still said in a release. "Two shelters will open Wednesday and our partners are in the community helping Hurricane Florence survivors have their plan in place by Wednesday evening."

Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said the city also was urging its residents of low-lying areas to evacuate tomorrow morning.

"If you're making arrangements to leave the area, we ask you to do it sooner rather than later," he said.

Gov. Roy Cooper, who visited the New Hanover County EOC Tuesday morning before announcing a statewide mandatory evacuation of North Carolina's barrier islands, said the state is ready for an influx of evacuees heading inland.

"We have now already Durham in Northgate Mall they are preparing We also have an emergency medical center set up in Johnston County, in Clayton, N.C.," he said. "We are ready for that overflow of people in the event that might come this way."

-- Hunter Ingram and Allison Ballard

12:30 p.m. update: ILM reports no cancellations for now

The Wilmington International Airport is in a holding pattern as it waits to hear whether its airlines will cancel any flight slater in the week.

Airport staff hopped on a conference call with all of its tenants, including airlines and rental car services, Tuesday morning to touch base about the impending weather. As of now, there are no cancellations, but that could change in the coming days.

"It's a waiting game to see what, if anything, the airlines will do as far as cancellation," said ILM deputy director Gary Broughton. "But the airport will remain open, that's our plan always."

-- Hunter Ingram

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12 p.m. update: No school on Friday

New Hanover County Schools will be closed Friday to all students and staff due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Dorian.

In a release Tuesday morning, the district said projected dangerous weather conditions prompted the move.

"The district encourages everyone to be safe and follow the directions of New Hanover County and state emergency management officials during this serious weather event," stated the release. "Once it is safe to do so after the storm, district staff will begin damage assessments at all NHCS facilities."

The schools had already announced that classes are cancelled Wednesday and Thursday, with Wednesday an optional workday with early release for employees.

-- Gareth McGrath

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11:30 a.m. update: Cooper: 'Hoping and praying' for the best

WILMINGTON -- Gov. Roy Cooper visited the New Hanover County Emergency Operations Center on Tuesday morning as local preparation for Hurricane Dorian began to pick up pace.

"We are hoping and praying for the best in North Carolina, but preparing for the worst, " he said.

Cooper spoke with county officials and met with 911 operators and those fielding calls from the public about the storm.

Cooper also expected to release more information about possible evacuation of barrier islands later today.

"We know how costly evacuations can be, but our first priority is to save lives," he said.

-- Allison Ballard

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10 a.m. update: New Hanover opens EOC

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WILMINGTON -- Gov. Roy Cooper is visiting the New Hanover County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Tuesday morning as county officials ramp up their preparations for the impending arrival of Hurricane Dorian.

State officials announced Monday that potential flooding of Interstate 40 remains a focal point of emergency officials, with the state pre-positioning vehicles that can navigate high water levels to prevent the Port City from again becoming cut off as happened last September during Hurricane Florence.

The focus on I-40 comes as 5-10 inches of rain could potentially fall on the Wilmington area starting late Wednesday, with some places seeing upwards of 15 inches closer to the coast, according to the latest National Weather Service forecast.

New Hanover County manager Chris Coudriet spoke to the media Monday afternoon about the county's current storm preparations, specifically that he expects the county to declare a state of emergency Tuesday. Staff also plans to open at least two shelters on Wednesday, plans for which which will be announced once they are finalized today.

County government offices and services are now closed and will remain closed until further notice including: New Hanover County Libraries, Senior Resource Center, Airlie Gardens, Arboretum, Cape Fear Museum and New Hanover County Parks.

The county also has established a public information hotline to take calls from residents and visitors. The hotline will be available 24 hours a day and can be reached at (910) 798-6800, with Spanish speakers available.

-- Gareth McGrath

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