Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians prepares for impact of Hurricane Florence

Monday, September 10, 2018  

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is preparing for impacts of Hurricane Florence ahead of a potentially destructive strike on the southeast U.S.

Heavy rain, strong wind and flooding are possible even though the tribe more than 400 miles inland from the North Carolina coast, The Cherokee One Feather reported. The state governor has already declared an emergency so officials are paying close attention.

“Our swift water rescue team has been put on standby should the state need them,” Mollie Grant, the tribe's director of public safety, told the paper.

According to Weather.Com, Florence has been intensified to a Category 4 hurricane. It's projected to hit the southeast coast later this week, with mandatory evacuation orders in place in North Carolina and South Carolina in preparation of disaster conditions.

"Don't concentrate on the exact forecast track of Hurricane #Florence. Significant effects will extend outside the cone, and will arrive at the coast sooner than the eye," the National Hurricane Center wrote in a post on Twitter on Monday afternoon.

Tribe and region prepare for Hurricane Florence (The Cherokee One Feather September 10, 2018)