LAURINBURG — The City of Laurinburg is under a state of emergency in advance of Tropical Storm Ian.

In a declaration from the city, mayor Jim Willis said, “I have determined that there is an imminent threat of or existing conditions have caused or will cause widespread or severe damage, injury or loss of life or property; and whereas declaring a state of emergency and imposing the restrictions and prohibitions ordered herein is necessary to maintain order and protect public health, safety, and welfare and to secure property.”

The state of emergency, which goes into effect at 5 p.m. covers the entire city of Laurinburg.

Tropical storm Ian is expected to bring heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 50 miles an hour to the area.

Scotland County has also issued a state of emergency. Below is the county’s release:

Scotland County Board of Commissioners Chair, Whit Gibson signed a declaration of a state of

emergency in Scotland County effective at 11:00 am on September 29, 2022. Tropical Storm

Ian, the once hurricane that has devastated Florida,which is predicted to strengthen back into a

Category 1 hurricane and is predicted to impact Scotland County.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch as well as a tropical storm warning for

Scotland County. Ian is expected to bring 2-6 inches of rain as well as tropical storm force wind

gusts to Scotland County and the region. The main impacts of the storm will be downed trees

and power lines which will cause a loss of power. Other impacts could be localized flash

flooding as well as poor drainage flooding.

At this time, there are NO COUNTY WIDE CURFEWS in place, nor is a shelter opened up.

Each municipality (Laurinburg, Wagram, Gibson) may have curfews in place but there are no

county wide curfews.

Residents of Scotland County are encouraged to remain vigilant during this storm and to check

for updates on the Scotland County Facebook page as well as radio and television stations that

serve the county.

The towns of Gibson and Wagram have issued state of emergency notices:

WHEREAS, Hurricane Ian, or the remnants thereof, is forecast to move through the State of North Carolina, including Scotland County and the Town of Gibson, within the next twenty four (24) to forty eight (48) hours, and the forecast calls for significant rain, flooding and high winds which are likely to pose a threat to life and property in the Town of Gibson.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gwen Arrigon, Mayor of the Town of Gibson, do hereby declare a STATE OF EMERGENCY within the Town of Gibson, and, pursuant to the authority granted to me by State law and Town ordinance, hereby ORDER as follows:

1. For the reasons stated above I declare a state of emergency in the Town of Gibson beginning at 2 pm on September 29, 2022.

2. This Declaration shall remain in effect until properly rescinded or modified by subsequent declaration.

3. During the State of Emergency, the following conditions shall apply within the corporate limits of the Town of Gibson: to follow all state and county safety protocols.

4. A copy of this Declaration shall be provided to the Town Clerk. Reports of the substance of the prohibitions and restrictions of this Declaration shall be sent to the mass media communications serving the Town of Gibson immediately, and the full text of this Proclamation shall be distributed to the mass communications media serving the Town. A copy of this Proclamation shall be posted conspicuously on the Town of Gibson at Town Hall, and a Notice and a signed copy of this Proclamation shall be submitted to the Department of Public Safety WebEOC.

GIVEN UNDER HAND AND THE SEAL OF THE TOWN OF GIBSON ON THIS THE 29th Day of September 2022 at 2 PM.

WHEREAS, Hurricane Ian (“Ian”) will likely cause significant impact to the Town of Wagram; and

WHEREAS, as a result of the above-described emergency, I have determined that there is an imminent threat of, or existing conditions have caused or will cause, widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property, and public safety authorities will be unable to maintain public order or afford adequate protection for lives or property; and

WHEREAS, declaring a State of Emergency and imposing the restrictions and prohibitions ordered herein is necessary to maintain order and protect public health, safety, and welfare, and to secure property.

NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to the authority vested in me as the Mayor of the Town of Wagramunder Article 1A of Chapter 166A of the North Carolina General Statutes and Article 3, Section 17-76 a of the Town of Wagram’s Code of Ordinances:

Section 4. I hereby order all the Town of Wagramlaw enforcement officers and employees and all other emergency management personnel subject to our control to cooperate in the enforcement and implementation of the provisions of this Declaration, all applicable local ordinances, state and federal laws, and the Town of Wagram Emergency Operations Plan.

Section 5. I hereby order this declaration: (a) to be distributed to the news media and other organizations calculated to bring its contents to the attention of the general public; (b) to be filed with Clerk to the Wagram Board of Commissioner’s; and (c) to be distributed to others as necessary to ensure proper implementation of this declaration.

Section 6. This declaration shall take effect on September 29, 2022 at 2:00 PM, and shall remain in effect until modified or rescinded.

According to the Associated Press, Ian was one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the U.S.

The hurricane swamped southwest Florida on Wednesday, flooding streets and buildings, knocking out power to over 1 million people, and threatening catastrophic damage further inland.

A coastal sheriff’s office reported that it was getting many calls from people trapped in homes. The hurricane’s center struck near Cayo Costa, a protected barrier island just west of heavily populated Fort Myers.

Mark Pritchett stepped outside his home in Venice around the time the hurricane churned ashore from the Gulf of Mexico, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the south. He called it “terrifying.”

“I literally couldn’t stand against the wind,” Pritchett wrote in a text message. “Rain shooting like needles. My street is a river. Limbs and trees down. And the worst is yet to come.”

The Category 4 storm slammed the coast with 150 mph (241 kph) winds and pushed a wall of storm surge accumulated during its slow march over the Gulf. More than 1.1 million Florida homes and businesses were without electricity. The storm previously tore into Cuba, killing two people and bringing down the country’s electrical grid.

About 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate southwest Florida before Ian hit, but by law no one could be forced to flee.

News anchors at Fort Myers television station WINK had to abandon their usual desk and continue storm coverage from another location in their newsroom because water was pushing into their building near the Caloosahatchee River.