Efforts to protect life and property should be rushed to completion along the U.S. East Coast as threats of a Major Hurricane Florence landfall increase. While evacuation orders have been issued in some coastal communities, it is important that even those far away from the coast prepare for Florence’s possible arrival.

According to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center, tropical storm force winds could reach the East Coast soon after 8pm Wednesday. The National Hurricane Center says it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to execute Hurricane Action Plans when tropical storm force conditions exist. As such, efforts to plan and prepare for the storm  should be complete by then at the coast. Efforts to prepare for the storm should be wrapped by by 8am Thursday for central Georgia, northern South Carolina, central North Carolina, Delaware, and southern Virginia.  According to the guidance from the National Hurricane Center, storm preparations should be complete by Thursday afternoon for New Jersey, New York City, Pennsylvania, Maryland,  West Virginia, and western Kentucky and Tennessee.

Tropical storm conditions won’t be felt in all of these locations, but the National Hurricane Center encourages people to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.