Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thank you for all the replies and the tips! We are not tourists, we've lived here for awhile now, but just moved closer to the coast. Being 45 minutes inland, I was mainly curious if I would need to evacuate my family if a big one hit. I feel like we are prepared and know what to do if a smaller storm comes through, but am very anxious about what our plans would/should be if there is a Category 3, 4 or 5 headed for us. How far inland do people go if the coastal towns are evacuated?
I know if they're coming from the lower beaches, they head to Clinton & Fayetteville (1.5-2 hours inland) and shelters are set up to handle the overflow once the hotels are full.
The towns you asked about, Morehead City, Jacksonville, and New Bern, may all be asked to evacuate occasionally, and the quickest place to go for those areas is to Kinston or Goldsboro via Hwy 70. The round blue signs say "Evacuation" along that road. But most of the time, it will just be Morehead City asked to leave, and probably those folks just getting to New Bern via Hwy 70 would be enough (so you're good where you are). I used to live near the Outer Banks on the north end and as long as beach-goers got as far as Elizabeth City via Hwy 158, that was considered mainland, and the hotels would get booked up, it just happened a few times in the 20-30 years I lived over that way. The worst storms were back in the 1950s. And most hurricanes come in September.
Generally it is very easy to recognize when it's time to go, plus they announce it all over the place, and basically you just want to go inland about an hour's drive towards I-95. Traffic jams are the biggest problem, so if the TV really gets to talking about such-and-such storm coming for a near-direct hit on your locale, go ahead and leave so you can miss most of the people who wait until they HAVE to go. See, hurricanes lose their power when they hit landfall, the winds dissipate from, say, 100mph to 50mph, so they're not as destructive once they come inland.
Someday when you have time, drive on over towards Kinston and Goldsboro, look at the hotels you like near there, and jot them down and put them next to your phone; that way, you can make a reservation and have a good place to stay if a bad storm comes up. Just don't pick one that has a "river view." Serious flooding occasionally happens in mainland cities when there's been a significant amount of rain earlier in the year, usually from a previous tropical storm.
I've lived in coastal areas most of my life (altho I live up in the mountains now), and I assure you that you will get used to the whole situation when one is sure to brush the coast in the next few years. The winds get really strong, blows the rain sideways, gusts real hard, but it's when the windspeed is strong enough to rip off whole rooftops that hurricanes become a problem. And it's nothing so bad as tornado alley in the midwest, those things are really dangerous. If you really get caught, go to the nearest hospital, they will stand in as a shelter.
Do not get lulled into the belief that only coastal residents can be affected by hurricanes. A few examples:
More deaths associated with storms occur due to inland flooding than anything else.
1989 Charlotte got hit by Hurricane Hugo
1996 Raleigh got hit by Hurricane Fran
2004 Hurricanes Frances and Ivan dumped 10-14 inches of rain in the NC mountains creating landslides.
If I'm not mistaken, most of the 35 NC deaths from Hurricane Flloyd in '99 came from "inland". ie. Kinston, Tarboro, Princeville, Jones County, and Goldsboro. Accordingly, these were also the area that had the worst flooding. My wife, who lived in Jones county at the time, actually evacuated to Morehead City. New Bern east was dry.
Anything like Floyd shouldn't happen again for another 90 to 410 years.
My wife, who lived in Jones county at the time, actually evacuated to Morehead City. New Bern east was dry.
No one would have believed me if I had said that but, boy is it true. I can't count the number of storms that have hit that folks who evacuated could not return for days and weeks due to inland flooding. We on the coast have a great drainage system in inlets and sand!
I am in no way trying to belittle or diminish the hazard along the coast. If I was beach front, we'll-I wouldn't be during a storm. It's why media coverage always bases its operations on the beach/coast.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
