SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — Hurricane Florence is closing in on the East Coast and as of Wednesday night, 10 million people from the Carolinas to Virginia are under hurricane or storm watches and warnings.
A Clairemont woman is sharing her experience back east with News 8 as people get ready for the worst.
Grocery stores are shown wiped out of water in video taken Wednesday by Shirley Lee who's in North Carolina.
“It reminds me of the fires in California,” she said. “People preparing, stocking up on anything they can. You don't know what's going to happen because you don't know what way the wind is going to blow and that's the big determining factor in all of this.”
Shirley lives in Clairemont but flew east on Sunday to visit family.
She knew Hurricane Florence was headed that way, but decided to go ahead with her plans so she could be close to her parents, if they need help.
"We are a bit scared because we have no idea what to expect other than lots of wind and rain – up to 40 inches of rain” said Shirley.
Shirley's family lives in the town of Apex, outside of Raleigh - about a two-hour drive from the coast, but still close enough to feel a hurricane's wrath, as they have in the past.
"We're worried that we may lose power,” said Shirley. “The power could be out for potentially a week or more, because [during] one of the most recent hurricanes, we've lost power for up to two weeks.”