North Carolina readies for hurricane season months after Matthew flooded state

Seven months after Hurricane Matthew caused billions of dollars of damage to North Carolina, the state is getting ready for another hurricane season.

In a news conference on Wednesday, Gov. Roy Cooper along with several state officials and representatives from the National Hurricane Center urged North Carolinians to be prepared for another storm. The conference was a part of the Hurricane Hunter aircraft tour at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

"It's every citizen, every visitor to the state of North Carolina, that is hurricane vulnerable," said Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center. "Not just coastal, not just inland; not just wind, but water, as well.

"I hope that we are able to tell the stories of North Carolina far and wide because any people around the country, in fact, around the world, can learn from what you all have been through."

North Carolina Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry said people need to be aware of the weather because it only takes one storm to make a difference.

Sprayberry said people need to make plans before a hurricane hits. Those plans should include evacuation routes, shelter locations and emergency contacts that are shared with entire families, Sprayberry said.

"You need to update or to build an emergency kit," Sprayberry said. "That needs to include everything from water, canned food, medicines, important papers, things like that, because you don't want to get caught."

North Carolina is still rebuilding from Hurricane Matthew, which drenched the state in October. Cooper said the storm did an estimated $4.8 billion of damage.