County EMS prepared for Debby

Surry County looks as if it will be spared the brunt of Tropical Storm Debby, but that hasn’t stopped local EMS workers from getting ready just the same.

Byron Isaacs, emergency management coordinator for Surry County, said he and his colleagues across the state have been watching the storm, staying in contact with one another, and beginning on Tuesday started taking part in a series of virtual meetings and updates with the North Carolina Department of Emergency Management.

While some portions of North Carolina, particularly near the coast, may get slammed with heavy rain and strong winds, he is hopeful this week’s preparation will be little more than an exercise in Surry County.

“Our impact is expected to be mostly rain,” he said.

The National Weather Service agreed that while areas as close as Greensboro could be hit with heavy downpours, Surry County may not be hit as hard.

“The potential for Surry County is to get 2 to 4 inches of rainfall,” said William Perry, a meteorologist in the Blacksburg, Virginia National Weather Service office.

East of Greensboro, he said, could see more than 8 inches of rainfall, along with damaging winds and even heavier rain closer to the coast. Locally, he said winds should be slight, with the occasional gust of up to 20 mph. While he said there is potential for trees falling given the ground already being wet from recent rain, he said the main danger facing Surry County residents will be flooding.

Perry offered caution to those who might be driving during the rainfall.

“When it’s raining there may be issues with street flooding, ponding of water, hydroplaning issues. If you live near a creek or tributary, watch for flooding and monitor the forecast. If streets are flooding you definitely don’t want to try crossing that, you don’t know how deep the water is.”

While Perry said there might be some occasional heavy downpours, he sees most of the precipitation coming in steady rainfall, spread out over 24 to 36 hours. Most of that, he said, will be from late Thursday to late Friday.

Isaacs, of Surry County EMS, said he is hopeful the rain being spread out over 24 hours will lessen the severity of any flooding.

He said the county rescue squads, and the Surry County Technical Rescue crew have all been working this week to ensure boats are stocked and ready, boat engines are in working order, and trailers are full of any potentially needed swift water rescue equipment.

“We want to make sure everything is in place that could be used for a water rescue,” he said.

The county’s fire departments have been doing the same with its chainsaws and similar equipment that might be needed on an emergency basis to clear roads and pathways to homes, should trees of power poles topple.

Statewide, he said the North Carolina Emergency Management Center was up and running at noon on Tuesday and will remain so until danger from the storm has passed.

North Carolina State Fire Marshal Brian Taylor urged caution Tuesday, “Current forecasts indicate that this storm could rival the devastating impact of Hurricane Florence, with significant inland flooding expected.”

“All indications are pointing to this storm being similar in magnitude to Hurricane Florence,” said Taylor.

Both Perry and Isaacs cautioned area residents to not be complacent because the storm’s present trajectory has it largely missing Surry County.

“The track of the center of the storm is highly unstable,” Perry said, explaining it could shift to a more westward path, bringing heavier rain and some wind should that occur.

“We’re watching it constantly,” Isaacs said. “We want to make sure it doesn’t shift,” and if it does, he said county officials could change their strategy as needed.

Isaacs offered several words of caution for local residents: Watch out for downed trees, do not attempt to drive through standing or deep water, and stay away from downed power lines. “If they’re still active there’s a chance of injury or death around power lines.”

Isaacs also asked that Surry County residents sign up for the county’s hyper link program at http://hyper-reach.com/ncsurrysignup.html

“This will allow anyone to sign up for Surry County alerts and warnings via landline, cell phone, TDD/TTY, email, or web browser,” he said.