ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina — North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued a State of Emergency for North Carolina due to Tropical Storm Debby on Monday. In Elizabeth City, it's business as usual and emergency crews in the area will stay that way unless the path of the storm changes.
“The only time I have closed the store early or ever is because I lost power," said Kevin Blade, owner of Shut Up and Listen Records.
Watch: NC Gov. Roy Cooper issues State of Emergency ahead of Tropical Storm Debby
“I don’t think I can ever remember having to close because of the flooding," said Diane Sawyer, a manager at Cypress Creek Grill.
Downtown Elizabeth City business owners are keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Debby, but are operating as they normally would on a Tuesday in the summer. The threat of flooding comes with any rainfall in the downtown area and one business owner told me what it takes to close their doors.
“1. Flooding and 2. The safety of our baristas. Making sure that they can get to work and from work safely. If that’s ever in question, that’s when we’ll close," said Diana Bennett, the owner of The Kraken Coffeehouse.
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Pasquotank-Camden-Elizabeth City Emergency Management has also been keeping a close eye on the storm since it made landfall last weekend.
“Still not sure what the track is going to be, but they've kind of fine tuned it, and we've been watching that. Started yesterday, really focusing on the event and seeing what's going to happen with it and how it's going to impact our area," said Brian Parnell, emergency management coordinator for PCECEM.
Parnell said all emergency crews with fire, police and EMS are operating normally as of now. One thing that could change that, is if the storm's path heads further to the coast.
“If those impacts, the rain amounts, the wind, were to drive it to where we needed to do something different, that's where it's going to that we'd be calling in resources from the state," said Parnell.
PCECEM will continue providing updates to residents on its Facebook page that you can find here.
