NEW BERN, N.C.- Emergency management crews in Craven County are urging residents to prepare ahead of Hurricane Irene.
It's going to take more than a hurricane to scare Barbara Barber. "But there's a feeling of depression when that water comes up all around you and it just continues to slowly rise," she said.
She's already lived through one here on Streets Ferry Rd. in Vanceboro. "When I walked back after Floyd, and stepped through my front door the first thing I did was run outside because I was sick to my stomach- not just the sight of it but the stench."
Barber says her husband rebuilt the house 16 feet above sea level. When Tropical Storm Nicole put her neighbors under water, the overflow from nearby Swift Creek stayed two feet from her porch. "We had everything in the house we needed and we just waited,” said Barber.
"It’s no joke,” said Stanley Kite, Craven County Emergency Services Director. “This is a serious hurricane." Kite says with Hurricane Irene getting closer, residents need supplies to sustain on their own for at least 76 hours. "Its going to leach on us a little more than what Floyd did even with potential for inland flooding as well as storm surge- it could be worse,” said Kite.
Barber says she'll leave her house if she needs to, "But if I feel the same peaceful attitude I had last time then I'll stay right here,” she said.
Kite says emergency crews are tracking the storm and it's too soon to tell if residents will need to be evacuated.
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