Wary Atlantic Beach residents prepare for Hurricane Dorian

By Sloane Heffernan, WRAL reporter

Atlantic Beach, N.C. — With Hurricane Dorian slowly making its way toward North Carolina, many residents of Atlantic Beach are anxiously awaiting the approaching storm.

On Tuesday, the area was alive with sounds of hammering and prepping for the storm, sounds that bring back bad memories for some homeowners on Atlantic Beach.

“Last year was just devastating around here,” said resident Rich Webb. “Everything down east suffered.”

Webb’s home was one of the many damaged during Hurricane Florence.

He spent the day packing possible projectiles and loading them into his garage.

“I’m very nervous,” he said Tuesday. “It’s like déjà vu.”

Atlantic Beach was under a voluntary evacuation on Tuesday, but Carteret County officials anticipate a mandatory evacuation starting at noon tomorrow.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed this one won’t be this bad,” said John Flynn, who spent much of the day with his crew boarding up windows.

The construction company he works for built many of these beach front homes decades ago..

“Many of these home sustained damage and are still in the process of rebuilding from the last storm,” Flynn said. “You drive slowly down and you look at the roofs and you can still see some work that needs to be done. “