Cumberland County and Fayetteville officials bracing for Hurricane Dorian

By Gilbert Baez, WRAL reporter

Leaders in Fayetteville and Cumberland County have their eyes on Dorian especially since many residents in the Sandhills are still recovering from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence.

The sounds of hammers have been pounding in Clifton Hall’s Spring Lake home for about a year.

“The water came up behind the house and the town came by and told us we had to move,” he said.

Hurricane Florence flooded the Little River behind Hall’s home, damaging damaged the floors and walls. He said the wind blew down trees that punched holes in his roof.

As of Tuesday, crews were putting the finishing touched on his new floors.

The cabinets are up in the kitchen and the roof has since been repaired.

He’s seen the pictures of damaged caused by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas and knows exactly what those folks are going through.

“They’re feeling numb and they don’t know what next to encounter,” he said. “They don’t know what they’re going to do about tomorrow.”

He recalls not having any idea what he was going to do day to day.

“I was like numb for about two or three weeks,” Hall said.

Fayetteville and Cumberland County eaders are getting ready for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian. The Emergency Operation Center will be up and running full time, beginning Wednesday morning.

They are asking the public not take this storm lightly.

Gene Booth said county leaders worry about strong winds that would knock out residents’ power.

“So, we’re looking at a lot of power outages and blocked roads not washed out roads,” Booth said.