plan, and every disaster plan should be a communication plan i.e. designate a friend or relative outside of the County or area as a family contact in the event a family is separated during a flood, and agree on a meeting place. Also included in the disaster plan should be various escape routes avoiding low lying areas. A good way to accomplish this is through a good Geographical Information System that is composed of software, hardware, people, knowledge, and data and a good map. Wherever there is a mass body of water there is a chance of hurricanes.
Hurricanes are cyclonic storms that can originate in tropical oceans poleward of about 5 degrees latitude. Basically, hurricanes are heat engines, fueled by the release of latent heat from the condensation of warm water. This County is vulnerable to the latent heat because of the average heat index of 62 degrees as discussed in the above “geographical features of Wayne County”. The County has a history of Category 3 (Winds of 111 to 130 miles per hour) hurricanes. North Carolina/Wayne County has had an extensive hurricane history dating back to colonial times. During the nineteenth century, storms occurred in 1837, 1846, 1856, 1879, 1883, and 1899. During the 1950’s North Carolina was impacted by several hurricanes, including Hazel, Connie, Diane, and lone, and to this day hurricanes, and floods are prevalent in North Carolina, and Wayne County. Whenever there is a considerable amount of water there is a considerable amount of dams, and that can be a part of the mitigation phase in the hazard mitigation plan. There are approximately 50 dams in or affecting the Neuse River basin region with a hazard classification from low, intermediate, to
high. Only a handful out of the 50 dams are located in Wayne County, but people still need to be mindful that the threat exist of a dam breaking.