Residents, businesses Down East brace for Debby's arrival

GOLDSBORO, N.C. (WTVD) -- As Tropical Storm Debby continues its path through the Carolinas, residents and businesses Down East are on high alert and taking precautions for the storm. In Wayne County, emergency crews are standing by should flooding turn severe, and water rescue crews will be activated on Thursday morning.

"I'll get ready for it. I'll get prepared for it," said Wydell Holden, a Goldsboro resident.

Holden and his wife, Thelma, moved to Jefferson Avenue two years ago after another storm damaged their previous home in Goldsboro. It's a low-lying part of the city typically prone to flooding.

"Very horrible," Holden said. "I wouldn't go, I wouldn't want to go to, you know, losing electric and all. I wouldn't want to go through that again. That's why I moved to this area."

He's hopeful the possible flooding from Debby doesn't come close to that event, but Holden said he's still not taking any chances this week.

"Boarding the windows and everything, the doors and everything. I'm trying to keep it safe," he said.

That sentiment was shared by several businesses along Ash Street in Goldsboro, a section of which runs perpendicular to Stoney Creek -- which frequently spills over its banks in heavy rain. ABC11 saw businesses announce closures Thursday and several others prepare with boarded windows and sandbags.

"We're just trying to get everything up from below the knee level because issues about how high the river gets," said Heather Lane, an employee at The Lantern Inn.

The Lantern was one of the countless businesses closed Thursday, and Lane said they may close Friday, too. In the meantime, she said they're raising all their furniture, storing dining ware and getting their patio ready for the expected floodwaters.

"We've been trying to prepare, but you can't really much prepare because the weather changes from day to day. So we're trying to keep up with it and try to prepare as we go on," Lane said.

County officials told ABC11 that the Emergency Operations Center has been partially activated, and they're urging residents to take the usual cautions for a severe storm immediately.