Paul's Valley Woman Stuck In North Carolina During Hurricane Florence

As Hurricane Florence wreaks havoc on the Carolinas, an Oklahoma woman is stuck near Raleigh to ride out the storm.

As the wind and rain grow stronger, Bernice Short's loved ones in Paul’s Valley are checking up on her.

“Everybody wants to know if we're safe, wants to know if my family's safe,” Short said.

Short was originally North Carolina for a family reunion.

She is staying in North Carolina due to flight issues.

“The flight was going to be delayed then they weren't sure if it was going to be cancelled up in Charlotte. They were taking volunteers, so I volunteered to get off the plane now instead of being stranded in Charlotte,” Short said.

Short is staying with her son, Joe Smith, who can't evacuate because he's a lineman.

“Pretty much everybody down there has evacuated, and that's something that I haven’t seen,” Smith said.

Short and Smith say at least, in central North Carolina, they've only been seeing heavy winds and rain so far.

They have no electricity and are prepared to go to an evacuation center if they can't stay in the house.

“There's pretty much no water, no gas, no batteries. All the generators and all the chainsaws are sold,” Smith said.

Short says after dealing with Oklahoma tornadoes, facing Florence isn't so scary.

“A hurricane you prepare, and you prepare there for days for it to hit. Where tornadoes it just comes out of nowhere,” Short said.

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