NC Governor Cooper declares state of emergency due to severe weather

RALEIGH, NC (FOX Carolina)- North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued a state of emergency on Wednesday in response to Tropical Storm Fred, according to a release from Cooper’s office.

The Governor says that the state of emergency was declared to activate North Carolina’s emergency operations plans as well as to waive transportation rules to help first responders and the agriculture industry.

An Executive Order signed by the governor waives height and weight requirements for vehicles that are carrying emergency relief supplies or those that are helping to restore utility services, remove debris or other emergency relief efforts.

According to Cooper, the order temporarily suspends the weighing of vehicles that are transporting livestock, poultry or crops.

Governor Cooper also confirmed that Haywood, Jackson, McDowell Mitchell, Rutherford, Transylvania and Yancey counties have also declared states of emergency.

The governor says that crews are working to restore power to those affected by the storms as 11,600 outages are currently reported as of Wednesday.

Read Governor Cooper’s full executive order here.

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