Schools closing, shelters opening: NC communities are preparing for Hurricane Idalia

Hurricane Idalia is moving north in the Gulf of Mexico as it moves closer to making landfall in Florida.

Idalia is expected to make landfall Wednesday morning in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has activated the National Guard as the state prepares for Hurricane Idalia.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida.

Public schools along NC’s south and eastern borders to close

Public schools in Pender and Robeson counties will be closed on Thursday due to severe weather.

Robeson County schools have also asked parents to prepare for the possibility of an early dismissal on Wednesday. All after-school and athletics events are canceled for Wednesday.

Cape Fear Community College to close campus

Due to the threat of inclement weather from Hurricane Idalia, Cape Fear Community College will close all campus locations at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The campus will remain closed through Thursday.

Idalia preps in Lumberton

Folks who live in Robeson County will never forget Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018. The storms dumped an ocean of water on the county causing the Lumber River to overflow.

The flooding along interstate 95 in Robeson County became a nightmare.

"One of the things that we learned through Florence and Matthew is when [I-95] shuts down, it kind of disrupts the entire traffic pattern of the county, and it becomes a gridlock,” said North Carolina Department of Transportation District Engineer Brice Bell.

Resident Dennis Locklear remembered the devastation Hurricane Florence brought.

"It sort of scared me," Locklear said. "I didn't know if it was going to come acrsos and wash the brige out or not."

The flooding in Robeson County destroyed property and forced residents to get to higher ground. Since then, the county has added scanning machines to keep track of who utilizes its shelters.

“As folks are coming in, our residents are coming into the shelters, they can scan their driver's licenses, and we know who we have in the shelters,” said Robeson County Emergency Management Director Stephanie Chavis.

Wrightsville Beach preps for Idalia

Amy Avery has split her time between Cary and the North Carolina coast for 20 years. She said she had damage during Hurricane Florence in 2018. Avery now lives in Wrightsville Beach on a full-time basis.

"[I] take care of it a little more because without it, you're in trouble," Avery said.

Avery said her last step of preparations is securing her boat.

"Unless they tell us we need to leave, we're going to sit tight," Avery said.

Lifeguards said the storm has the potential to bring dangerous rip currents.

"We’re going to advise everyone to stay out of the water," said Noah Cahan with the Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue. "We’re going to fly red flags."

On Tuesday, beachgoers took advantage of a picture-perfect day ahead of the storm.

Amber Kading was visiting Wrightsville Beach from Arizona.

"We've been hearing about it like it's all sunny and the next thing you know, it's bad," Kading said.

Ocean Isle Beach prepares for Idalia

The town of Ocean Isle Beach has put out several warnings and instructions before Idalia's arrival.

The National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm warning from the South Santee River northward to Surf City.

The town is asking beachfront residents to move their items from their ground floors.

Harkers Island to temporarily close

Cape Lookout National Seashore will temporarily close all public access facilities on Thursday. There is a possibility of the closure continuing through Friday, if conditions at that time are not safe to reopen.

As the effects of the storm begin to pass on Friday, park staff will evaluate conditions on the ground and determine when public facilities may be safely reopened.

WRAL Storm Tracker in Florida

The WRAL Storm Tracker is tracking the storm as it moves from Florida up the east coast to North Carolina. Evacuations were underway Tuesday in Cedar Key, Florida.

Corinne Keeton, whose family owns a restaurant along the water in Cedar Key, explained the reason why some of her family plans to stay.

“This is their livelihood,” Keeton said. “Anyone who needs medical attention or anything, they understand no one’s coming.

“So, it’s a very limited, select group of my family that’s going to be staying behind. I know [there are] limited things that they can do, but their heart is here.”

The WRAL Storm Tracker is moving further inland in Florida to avoid storm surge as Idalia moves closer.