NC 911 Board Issues Safety Guidelines for Emergency Calls During Hurricane Florence

Charlotte Stories
-
0
NC 911 Board Issues Safety Guidelines for Emergency Calls During Hurricane Florence

The North Carolina 911 Board has issued a set of guidelines and reminders designed to keep North Carolinians and the state’s first responders safer during Hurricane Florence.

“Our 911 centers, especially those in the southeastern and coastal regions of the state, will be challenged by an increased number of calls during the hurricane,” said Pokey Harris, executive director of the 911 Board. “We need the help of all North Carolinians to ensure that 911 is used only for true emergencies.”

Harris shared some guidelines for people who may need assistance as a result of the storm.

Do not call 911 unless you have an emergency that is threatening your life or the lives of people around you.

For anything other than a life-threatening emergency, call 211. Operators will be available at 211 to assist with weather and traffic updates, connect callers to public assistance, and provide other general help.

First-responders will not monitor social media sites or networks during the hurricane. If you have a life-threatening emergency, do not reach out through social media for assistance. Call 911.

As the number of calls increase to a specific center, calls may be rerouted to back-up centers outside of your county. This is not unusual in emergencies, and especially common during hurricanes and other weather events. The professionals at the back-up 911 center will be able to assist you quickly and effectively.

Be patient. First responders are working as quickly as they can. Many of them are volunteers who are stepping into harm’s way to help make others safer. They want nothing more than to try to help as many people as possible.

“911 centers are the heartbeat of safe communities,” said 911 Board chairman, State CIO and DIT Secretary Eric Boyette. “It is imperative that we keep operations running smoothly and we can’t do that without the help of our PSAPs, their managers and the public.”

The NC 911 Board is responsible for both wireline and wireless 911 communications in the state, as well as related policies and procedures, and it administers the state’s 911 Fund. The fund is used to support equipment purchases for all 911 centers in the state. The board is housed with the NC Department of Information Technology.

NC Officials Warn of Increased Cyberattacks During Hurricane Florence

Charlotte Stories
-
0
NC Officials Warn of Increased Cyberattacks During Hurricane Florence

State Chief Information Officer Eric Boyette and State Chief Risk Officer Maria Thompson are urging North Carolinians to be cautious of cybercrime before, during, and after Hurricane Florence.

Cyber criminals take advantage of natural disasters such as hurricanes to solicit personal information illegally and to take advantage of vulnerable infrastructures, disaster victims, and volunteers by phishing. Phishing is when a criminal sends out an email, text message, or even a phone call pretending to be a reputable and legitimate source in order to obtain personal information such as credit card and Social Security numbers.

“Be cautious and stay vigilant,” said State Chief Risk Officer Maria Thompson. “Let’s ensure one disaster does not lead to another.  Phishing threats are real. Cyber criminals will use every tactic in their arsenal to deprive citizens of their information and ultimately their financial assets.”

Take these steps to prevent being taken advantage of by cybercriminals:

  • Carefully look at email and web addresses since cybercriminals will make them look as legitimate as possible, often using variations of spellings. The URL may have a different domain, such as .gov instead of .net.
  • Do not click on links in emails from anyone unless you know and have verified the sender of the email.
  • Take time to look at the sender’s email address. Do not click on any links until you are certain the organization is real. Check the organization’s website for its contact information and use sites such as www.charitynavigator.org to verify a charity organization.
  • Make sure your all of your anti-virus software is up to date and you’ve enacted the anti-phishing software provided by your email client.
  • Phishing emails and phone calls may also try to pose as official disaster aid organizations such as FEMA. A true FEMA representative will never ask personal banking information, Social Security number, or registration number.

“We all need to be mindful of the value the data we have and use every day,” said Eric Boyette, State Chief Information Officer and Secretary of the Department of Information Technology. “Too many people are vulnerable during natural disasters and it is imperative to take necessary precautions to protect yourself. Think of it as preparing an emergency kit for your personal data.”

Duke Energy Is Already Reporting Over 300,000 Power Outages in North Carolina

Steve
-
0
Duke Energy Is Already Reporting Over 300,000 Power Outages in North Carolina

Hurricane Florence touched down early this morning on the South East coast of North Carolina as a devastating Category 2 storm, with wind gusts exceeding 100 mph, life-threatening storm surges, and widespread flash floods.

According to the Duke Energy power outage map, there are currently 322,272 customers without power in North Carolina (as of 10:35am);

 

Most of the outages are in Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus Craven, Duplin, New Hanover, Robeson, Sampson, Wake, Wayne, Pamlico, Pender and Onslow counties near the coast.

The company sent out a press release 2 days ago announcing that they estimate over 3 million customers could lose power from Hurricane Florence and that it may take weeks to restore.

“The magnitude of the storm is beyond what we have seen in years,” said Howard Fowler, Duke Energy’s incident commander. “With the storm expected to linger, power restoration work could take weeks instead of days.”

The Carolina’s largest energy company has now amassed a team of over 20,000 workers to begin restoring power once the storm hits, including 8,000 Carolinas-based workers, 1,700 from Duke Energy Midwest, 1,200 from Duke Energy Florida, and 9,400 from other utilities.

If you live anywhere in the Carolinas, Duke Energy recommends having the following emergency items stocked in your home in case of a power outage;

All the above items are available via Amazon’s same-day Prime Now service if your local store has already been cleaned out.

Charlotte Breweries Fill Their Tanks With Fresh Water To Prep For Hurricane Florence

Steve
-
0
Charlotte Breweries Fill Their Tanks With Fresh Water To Prep For Hurricane Florence

A total of 5 local breweries have now filled their tanks with fresh water for Charlotte-area residents in preparation of Hurricane Florence’s coming devastation.

The small craft beer makers decided to sacrifice their fermenting tank time to help our city prepare.

Resident Culture in Plaza Midwood was one of the first to empty their beer and fill their tanks with water;

Divine Barrel in NoDa followed suit soon after;

as well as Blue Blaze Brewing, just North West of Uptown;

The movement has even spread down to Gastonia at Cavendish;

and Waxhaw, with Dreamchasers Brewery;

“We have our tanks filled up with clean water if anyone in the community needs it or wants to fill up . Bring your containers and we will fill them for free.”

Anheuser-Busch’s main headquarters has even decided to help out with the Carolina relief efforts.

At the request of the American Red Cross, the global company will be delivering 300,000 cans of emergency drinking water for Florence relief to hurricane-affected communities in the coming days.

“This year, as part of Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial launch, we committed to expanding our emergency drinking water program,” Bill Bradley, Vice President of Community Affairs for Anheuser-Busch said. “Today, we’re pleased to be officially delivering on that promise, doubling our production capacity to help our fellow Americans in times of need.”

What do you think about all the brewerys’ support?

Charlotte Ranks #5 in The Nation For Per-Capita Apartment Construction

Steve
-
0
Charlotte Ranks #5 in The Nation For Per-Capita Apartment Construction

If you’ve recently driven through South End, NoDa, Plaza Midwood, or Uptown and marveled at the sheer volume of new apartments being built, you’re not alone.

According to a recent report by ApartmentList.com, on a per-capita basis, the Charlotte metro ranks 5th out of the 25 largest metros in America for multifamily construction.

We ranked just below Dallas and Portland, and just above San Antonio and San Diego;

Between 2000 and 2016, we spent a total of $9.5 billion on new apartment developments, ranking #15 in the nation for overall dollars spent.

The report also points out how much faster cities are building apartments compared to single-family homes.

According to the report, “In 2017, annual spending on new multifamily construction totaled $62.6 billion; this amount is 3.8 times the amount spent in the post-recession trough of 2010, and is just 2.6 percent shy of the pre-recession peak of 2006. In contrast, single-family construction has failed to recover to the same extent, with real spending still at less than half its peak level.”

Our historic building boom is also far from over.

According to another report by the National Multifamily Housing Council, the Charlotte region is expected to need at least 72,000 more apartments by the year 2030.

What do you think about Charlotte’s apartment building boom?

UNC Charlotte & Barings Issue Mid-Year Economic Forecast For North Carolina

Charlotte Stories
-
0
UNC Charlotte & Barings Issue Mid-Year Economic Forecast For North Carolina

The economy of the United States and North Carolina continues to accelerate, yet international trade could be entering a caution zone, UNC Charlotte professor and economist John Connaughton says.

During the Barings/UNC Charlotte Economic Forecast today, Connaughton emphasized the country is in the second-longest economic expansion since 1854. This economic expansion has been under way for 111 months, as of September 2018.

Connaughton said that U.S.trade policy, however, is experiencing changes that could impact the economy – though it’s too soon to tell. “The United States has very few formal trade agreements with other countries, which means that tariffs abound on U.S. products with many countries,” he said. “It’s too soon to know if any changes to trade arrangements will have an economic effect.”

In his economic update, Connaughton discussed the nation’s major trade partners, including areas of North America, Europe and Asia.
John Connaughton.jpg
“Prior to 1913, the primary source of funding for the U.S. government was tariffs on international goods,” Connaughton said. “This source of funding has dropped significantly over the years, especially as income tax laws were introduced.”

Connaughton said, “For 2018, North Carolina’s real GSP is forecast to increase by 2.9 percent over the 2017 level. Fourteen of the state’s 15 economic sectors are forecast to experience output increases during 2018. At 2.9 percent growth, the state is nearing the 3.0 percent growth level.  That would be the strongest growth rate since 2006.”

He said the sectors with the strongest expected growth are nondurable goods manufacturing with a projected real increase of 5.1 percent; construction with a projected real increase of 4.9 percent; transportation, warehousing; utilities (TWU) with a projected real increase of 4.3 percent; wholesale trade with a projected real increase of 3.6 percent; and finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE) with a projected real increase of 3.2 percent.

For 2018, 129,000 net additional jobs will be added in North Carolina, an increase of 2.9 percent over the previous year, Connaughton said. “At this rate, this would be the biggest job growth recorded since 2006 in the state.  Through July of this year, North Carolina has already added 79,000 jobs – more than all of last year,” he said.

By December of 2018, the North Carolina unemployment rate is expected to be around 3.9 percent.

Connaughton presented his quarterly forecast as part of the Mid-Year Economic Update, sponsored by Barings.

Duke Energy Estimates Millions Will Lose Power For Weeks From Hurricane Florence

Steve
-
0
Duke Energy Estimates Millions Will Lose Power For Weeks From Hurricane Florence

Duke Energy just sent out a press release announcing that they now estimate over 3 million customers could lose power from Hurricane Florence and that it may take weeks to restore.

“The magnitude of the storm is beyond what we have seen in years,” said Howard Fowler, Duke Energy’s incident commander. “With the storm expected to linger, power restoration work could take weeks instead of days.”

The Carolina’s largest energy company has now amassed a team of over 20,000 workers to begin restoring power once the storm hits, including 8,000 Carolinas-based workers, 1,700 from Duke Energy Midwest, 1,200 from Duke Energy Florida, and 9,400 from other utilities.

“Despite our workforce, customers should continue to make plans for their homes and facilities,” said Fowler. “It’s important for people to know this is no ordinary storm and customers could be without power for a very long time – not days, but weeks.”

If you live anywhere in the Carolinas, Duke Energy recommends having the following emergency items stocked in your home in case of a power outage;

All the above items are available via Amazon’s same-day Prime Now service if your local store has already been cleaned out.

If Florence makes landfall in the Carolinas tomorrow as Category 3 or higher, it will become the first major hurricane to hit the region since Fran in ’96.

Both North Carolina and South Carolina have already declared states of emergency to prepare for the massive storm.

UPDATE 9/13/2018 8:00am:

Hurricane Florence has just been downgraded to a Category 2 storm, but has also grown in overall size, increasing the reach of its damaging winds. It could still marginally strengthen before making landfall, but it will likely remain a Category 2 or weak Category 3.

CMS Canceling All Classes and Activities Due To Hurricane Florence’s Threat To Charlotte

Steve
-
0
CMS Canceling All Classes and Activities Due To Hurricane Florence’s Threat To Charlotte

Hurricane Florence has shifted slightly south and is expected to cause widespread wind damage and flash flooding along most of Northern South Carolina and Southern North Carolina over the next few days.

Due to the increased threat, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School district has just announced that all classes, sports, extracurricular activities, and field trips have been canceled for Thursday (9/13), Friday (9/14), and Saturday (9/15).

Cabarrus County Schools have also announced that they will cancel all classes on Friday but remain on a normal schedule Thursday.

CMS announced the across-the-board closures earlier this afternoon on social media;

According to their official announcement;

“All CMS athletic practices, games and events are canceled for Thursday (9/13), Friday (9/14) and Saturday (9/15). Extracurricular activities and field trips scheduled for September 13 or September 14 are canceled. Before school and after-school enrichment programs (ASEP) are canceled.

Make-up days will be designated a later time. These days are designated Code C for CMS employees.”

50 MPH winds and flash flooding around Charlotte will likely knock down trees, cause pockets of power outages, and make some roads impassable.

In case of a power outage, make sure to have the following emergency items stocked in your home;

All the above items are available via Amazon’s same-day Prime Now service if your local store has already been cleaned out.

To learn more information and to sign-up for emergency alerts, please visit charmeckalerts.org and readync.org.

UPDATE 9/13/2018 8:00am:

Hurricane Florence has just been downgraded to a Category 2 storm, but has also grown in overall size, increasing the reach of its damaging winds. It could still marginally strengthen before making landfall, but it will likely remain a Category 2 or weak Category 3.

Zac Brown Band Just Canceled Their Charlotte Show Because of Hurricane Florence

Charlotte Stories
-
0
Zac Brown Band Just Canceled Their Charlotte Show Because of Hurricane Florence

The Zac Brown Band has just announced that they will be canceling three shows this week amid a growing threat from Hurricane Florence.

The award-winning country group was going to perform live at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte Thursday, September 13 before making stops in Raleigh Thursday and Virginia Beach on Friday.

All 3 shows have been canceled because of the storm;

Live Nation released the following statement to all patrons;

Due to pending landfall of Hurricane Florence, the Zac Brown Band concerts scheduled to play PNC Music Pavilion Charlotte on SeQ!.ember 13, Coastal Credit Union Music Park Raleigh September 14th, and Veterans United Home Loans Virginia Beach on Seru_ember 15 have been canceled. Refunds available at point of purchase. Tickets purchased online or by phone will be automatically refunded.

Insurers Warn Residents in the Carolinas to Prepare as Dangerous Storm Approaches

Charlotte Stories
-
0
Insurers Warn Residents in the Carolinas to Prepare as Dangerous Storm Approaches

With several storms developing in the Atlantic and Florence ready to strike the Carolinas, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) today urges those along the East Coast to take steps now to prepare.

Click here to watch PCI’s Assistant Vice President, Brooke Kelley, give tips to homeowners about preparing their property and protecting their finances. News organizations may embed and use this video with credit to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

“PCI encourages property owners to take precautions to protect themselves and their belongings from direct and indirect impacts any of these developing storms could have on homes and businesses,” said Nancy Egan, PCI’s North Carolina regional manager.

This time last year, Hurricanes Irma and Harvey demonstrated how major storms can develop quickly and bring significant flooding as well as strong winds to coastal communities. However, insurers and their catastrophe teams are always ready to respond in the event storms produce significant damage.

“Should a storm cause property damage, it’s important to contact your insurer or agent as soon as possible so they can help you begin the recovery process,” said Egan.

Flooding from storm surge during hurricanes and tropical storms can be especially dangerous for residents along the coast. Flooding is not covered by a standard homeowners policy; however, flood insurance coverage can be purchased through the National Flood Insurance Program or your insurance company.

“Just be aware that there is typically a 30-day waiting period between the date of purchase and when the actual flood coverage goes into effect,” said Egan.

PCI recommends taking the following precautions:

  • Review your property insurance policy, especially the “declarations” page, and check whether your policy pays replacement costs, or actual cash value for a covered loss.
  • Inventory your household items, and photograph or videotape them for further documentation. Keep this information and your insurance policies in a safe place.
  • Keep the name, address and claims-reporting telephone number of your insurer and agent in a safe and easily accessible place.
  • Protect your property by covering all windows with plywood or shutters, moving vehicles into the garage when possible and placing grills and patio furniture indoors.
  • Keep all receipts for any repairs so your insurance company can reimburse you.
  • Check with your insurance adjuster for referrals to professional restoration, cleaning and salvage companies if additional assistance is needed.
  • Make sure watercraft are stored in a secure area, like a garage or covered boat dock. A typical homeowner’s policy will cover property damage in limited instances for small watercraft, and separate boat policies will provide broader, more extensive property and liability protection for larger, faster boat, yachts, jet skis and wave runners. Additional information can be found on PCI’s Hurricane Headquarters page.
1...1,0701,0711,072...1,316Page 1,071 of 1,316