Raleigh, rest of Wake County bracing for possible flooding, strong winds, power outages

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— Raleigh and Wake County are under a Tropical Storm warning as the effects from Isaias are expected to be felt in the area Monday night and into Tuesday.

In the city, areas along Glenwood Avenue have been prone to flooding because of tropical storms and other heavy rain events. Along Crabtree Creek Trail, one area that does flood, conditions Monday evening were pretty good.

Duke Energy power outage reports

WRAL’s Kirsten Gutierrez reports the water levels in Crabtree Creek were very low, but experience has proven that can change there quickly. Rain has been on and off in Raleigh during the early part of the day on Monday. However, as Isaias gets closer and makes landfall before moving up into Virginia early Tuesday, the area is expected to get several inches of rain.

Local officials and those with emergency management warn that the rain from Isaias will come quickly. They encourage people who see standing water not to attempt to go through it. Roads may be washed out and other debris — possibly even power lines — could be in the water.

Officials within the county also said it’s important for citizens to be prepared. Emergency management personnel told WRAL’s Aaron Thomas they were prepared to be up all night responding to phone calls regarding flooded roads, trees down and power outages.

Garner Deputy Fire Chief Tim Herman said his crews spent hours making sure their trucks were fueled up, chainsaws were ready and generators were on hand. Emergency crews were prepared to close roads if they received calls about flooding, too.

“Trees down, power lines down, with the amount of rain, we’re concerned about some flooding,” Herman said. “So we’re in constant contact with the Wake County Emergency Center. They’ve got deployed swift water rescue teams in the area, so we’re partnering with them to make sure if that need arises, we can get those specialized teams on the way.”

Herman also said with rain picking up, officials will partner with other first responders in Wake County and are willing to pitch in and help in areas that get a high volume of calls.