Duke Energy Progress warns Hurricane Florence could bring widespread power outages

Duke Energy Progress is expecting Hurricane Florence to bring widespread outages when it makes landfall Thursday night.

The utility company is ramping up efforts and is putting its detailed storm response plan in motion.

Related: Power outages reported: Here's what you need to do

"A storm of this magnitude could take multiple days, and in some cases several weeks, to fully restore power to customers," said spokesperson Meredith Archie.

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Thousands of crews are on standby in the Carolinas.

Contractors from the Midwest and Florida are making travel arrangements to get here before the storm possibly strikes the state.

The company has been prepping throughout the weekend.

"We are making sure we have all of our line crews in place, inventorying all of our supplies, getting in touch with all of our contractor crews to make sure they're ready," said Archie.

Crews said flooding is a real concern.

Power lines could come crashing down and meters could be damaged.

All of which happened during Hurricane Matthew nearly two years ago; some folks waited for days to get the lights back on.

"It took a while for some houses to pass inspection for us to even serve them with electricity," said Archie.

Folks are being encouraged to plan on losing power and readying their hurricane emergency kits.

That should include flashlights, batteries, food, water, medication, and other supplies.