Ex-Baldwinites, now in North Carolina, spared by Florence

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Although many areas around Cary, NC were hit hard by Hurricane Florence, the town itself — which former Baldwinite Harriete Weitman calls home — was largely undisturbed. “There’s a lot of flooding and a couple of trees down,” said Weitman, who left Baldwin in 2014. “But we were spared here, as far as where I am … nothing compared to Wilmington and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.”

Cary sits about two and a half hours away from North Carolina’s coast. The move to a more in-land town was a calculated one by the Weitmans, who previously lived in Baldwin Harbor. “After living through Sandy, and even before Sandy, we decided we did not want to live on the coast,” she said, “because of the hurricane situation.”

Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina early Sept. 14. As of Sept. 17, 20 people in North and South Carolina have been killed due to heavy winds and rainfall. Hundreds more have been trapped in their homes and factories.

More than 100 miles of I-95 and I-40 have been closed off due to the storm, hitting cities like Wilmington hard. Two former Oceansiders, who are staying with the Weitmans, cannot get home and may not be able to for days. “They have no way to get home,” Weitman said.

The one-time Oceanside residents moved to Wilmington, which sits on North Carolina’s coast, one year ago, Weitman said. They are friends of the former Baldwin residents.

Cary was not in the mandatory evacuation zone. Despite that, Weitman said, many residents loaded up on supplies in anticipation of what might come. “There’s no more water or bread,” Weitman said last Thursday, before the storm hit North Carolina.

Florence is not the Weitmans first experience with a major hurricane. The couple stayed in their house during Superstorm Sandy. Their house was spared during the storm, though a nearby home “burned down,” Weitman said. “We also watched a tide of water rush down the street,” she said.

How you can help?

In an effort to aid the hard-hit residents of North and South Carolina, several Nassau residents and officials are asking for donations of goods to be shipped over. The Lions Clubs of Baldwin and Freeport, and others, are asking for baby supplies, cleaning materials and more to be brought to The Cop Shop at 560 Broadway in Massapequa. Hempstead Town Receiver of Taxes Donald Clavin is accepting bottled water, dish soap and laundry detergent, diapers, First Aid kits, extension cords and more at his office, located at 200 North Franklin St. in Hempstead, during business hours from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on weekdays.

“Long Island is no stranger to hurricanes, Long Island is no stranger to recovery and Long Island is no stranger to helping people,” Clavin said at a press conference announcing the donation drive. “Well right now our friends and neighbors down in the Carolinas are facing a massive storm.”

If you are organizing any other relief effort, or know of one, please email aoreilly@liherald.com.