Haywood County Prepares for Helene

As the projected impacts of Hurricane Helene become more certain, Haywood County is mobilizing all available resources to protect its residents, visitors, and resources.

All available emergency personnel and resources are in place and ready to respond as needed. The Emergency Operations Center will be fully staffed starting Thursday and will remain operational throughout the event.

Several new river gauges have been installed since Tropical Storm Fred impacted the county three years ago and they are providing data to emergency personnel now. Unfortunately, they are not yet listed on the statewide public flood gauge site known as FIMAN (https://fiman.nc.gov/), but they are up and running behind the scenes.

Fire departments are now assessing their districts and staffing up swift water teams, just in case.

The forthcoming Alert Siren project continues to move forward with installations beginning later this fall. Because installation has not begun, the system will not be functional as a warning system for this storm.

Haywood County is confident in its preparation efforts and urges citizens to take the opportunity to prepare now. The lessons we learned during Tropical Storm Fred should inform our choices for this potential event.

Residents are encouraged to prepare for potential evacuation by assembling an emergency kit, securing their home and property, photographing important documents in advance, and making arrangements to stay with family or friends if that’s the best option for them.

Sign up for Haywood alerts at: alerts.haywoodcountync.gov. 

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For Emergency Preparedness and Response questions, please contact Emergency Services PIO Allison Richmond – 828-507-5606

For Haywood County Government and Administration questions, please contact Haywood County PIO Dillon Huffman – 828-246-2950