‘Prepare now’: Cooper calls in the National Guard

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper and state emergency management officials held a news conference Wednesday morning warning residents to make those final preparations as Debby moved toward the state. 

The State Emergency Response Team, or SERT, has been fully activated, and if residents need somewhere to stay, call 211 for shelter options.

Since declaring a state of emergency, the governor said over 350 air National Guard soldiers are ready to serve.

“Never drive through flooded roads or around barricades,” Cooper said. It takes 6 inches of water to sweep an adult off their feet, Cooper said, and 12 inches to carry away a car.

He added 17 swift water rescue teams have been strategically positioned ahead of the storm’s arrival. They use data to help make best judgments on where to position resources. Flood Inundation Mapping & Alert Network, or FIMAN, is a flood mapping system that collects such data where residents and state officials can look to see prediction of river cresting across the state.

Gov. Cooper also said there are 200 employees monitoring the storm across the state, with at least one in each county as this slow-moving storm passes.