Union Co. residents wary of more potential flooding from Michael

UNION COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - Anna Rondinelli and her husband live along Shannon Road in Waxhaw. Last month they had a front porch seat to Florence Flooding.

“I was worried about, is it going to go over, are we going to be safe, what should I do next,” she says.

With the uncertainty of now Hurricane Michael’s impending impact, she is wondering those same things, again.

“I was telling my husband, I hope it’s not going to be like Florence,” she says.

So are Union County first responders, but they are preparing as if it will be.

“We learned a lot from Hurricane Florence,” Union County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Tony Underwood says. “Especially with the barricades, flooded roads, and problems that came as a result of that.”

Sheriff’s deputies are ready with barricades like the ones used back in September. They are hoping drivers will mind those markers, after the area lost two people to flooding in the last storm.

“We had two tragic examples of what can happen when you drive through a barricade,” Underwood says. “There’s a reason those roads are closed. It’s for your own safety.”

The Sheriff’s department has teams on standby for Thursday, ready to clear roads and set up those barricades, and extra sets of hands, as closed schools free up school resource officers.

They say Florence made them more prepared for other storms ahead, like this one.

“I think we’re still recovering from that,” Underwood says. “I think we are better prepared now, we’ve got a better line of communication.”

This, as homeowners like Rondinelli take their own precautions.

“I’m very concerned,” she says. “I’ve prepared myself this time, so hopefully it won’t be this bad.”

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