Great Neck’s Alert Fire Company is collecting goods in hopes of helping people set to be impacted by Hurricane Florence, which is expected to cause massive flooding and power outages, Chief Steven Schwartz said on Thursday.
Hurricane Florence recently dropped from a category 4 hurricane to a category 2, with winds over 100 miles per hour, and is expected to hit the Carolina coast on Friday.
But, according to the National Hurricane Center, Florence is still an very dangerous hurricane that could dump up to 40 inches of rain in some places and plow the coast with a 13-foot storm surge.
“Just because the winds came down, the intensity of this storm came down to a Category 2, please do not let your guard down,” FEMA Administrator Brock Long said at a Thursday news conference. “The storm surge forecast associated with this storm has not changed.”
Scwartz said they anticipate a high demand of non-perishable items being requested, so they want to get ahead and send goods down as soon as they can.
Among the goods Alert Fire Company will be accepting at their headquarters at 555 Middle Neck Road in Great Neck “anytime, 24 hours a day” are canned goods, dry good, non-perishables, water and other items, Schwartz said.
“Canned goods are very good,” Schwartz said. “People are looking for batteries, things they won’t have access to because they’re claiming some areas might not have power for several days.”
When asked if there was anything else he wanted to add, Schwartz said, “Be safe, be prepared. It’s storm season.”
