RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe is not taking the severe weather threat that is Hurricane Joaquin lightly.
“This is a very serious issue for us,” Gov. McAuliffe said Wednesday afternoon.
McAuliffe says his office has held multiple meetings about preparing for what could be a very damaging storm across the state. Preparations come as flooding has already wreaked havok across Virginia, with the potential for even more damage this weekend.
“We are looking at two potentially major events for the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Gov. McAuliffe added.
State officials have reached out to localities across the commonwealth to make sure whatever resources may be needed are in place.
“We are fully mobilizing all the resources to prepare for this,” the governor said.
Added Dawn Eischen with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, “We’re preparing for the worst and we really want people to think seriously about this storm and prepare as well.”
Eischen says residents need to do their part.
“With this storm there is the potential there could be power loss, so anyone sitting at home right now watching this, really needs to think about all the things around your house that you depend on for power and if you don’t have those,” Eischen said.
That includes thinking about the food in your fridge and having a three day supply of non perishable foods and water.
“You need to have flashlights, you need to have batteries for those flashlights,” Eischen said. “You need to have a way to communicate. Does your cell phone have extra batteries?”
And beyond preparing at home, Eischen says to be prepared to evacuate if need be, and have a place to go for you and your pets if you have any should things get too dangerous where you live.”
