ERWIN, Tenn. (WCYB) – With strong winds and heavy rains expected, the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency is preparing for what lies ahead.

“Just plan ahead, make sure the equipment is ready and everyone is safety conscious, and we can go out and do the job efficiently,” said Jimmy Erwin, director of the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency.

Jimmy Erwin said emergency management and first responders will monitor roads in Unicoi County.

911 will be our first choice for information about people calling city and county highway patrol officers. Together with myself and several other managers, we will be on site to monitor conditions, monitor the roads and extinguish the fire. The department will provide a rescue team if needed or needed, said Jimmy Erwin, director of Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency.

Jimmy Erwin said the Nolichucky River is one of their biggest concerns.

When it rains in Unicoi County, it takes an hour or two for it to rain. There will be heavy rain in North Carolina, two to three hours later there will be a flood of water on the Nolichucky River, so it will rain in North Carolina, and in Unicoi County, on the Tennessee side, Nolichucky will rise much faster at the same time, said Jimmy Erwin, Director of the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency.

The Heurich family is doing an 8-month hike on the Appalachian Trail and with 57 days left of the hike, they stopped to camp in the Cherokee National Forest. They were told they had to leave the camp on Thursday morning.

“We had to evacuate this morning because the entire campground was closed due to the flooding,” said camper Shiloh Heurich.

The Heurich family now lives in an Airbnb in the area, with the Nolichucky River right in their backyard.

“So we went out, trees were floating by, tree trunks were very swollen. “I don’t know what it normally looks like, but it’s really up there,” camper Melanie Heurich said.

With strong winds and heavy rain expected, Jimmy Erwin and his team are monitoring Unicoi County for the next 72 hours.

We’ll just watch to see if the storm passes through and if we get hit hard.

He advises you to pay attention to your surroundings, especially when driving.

People coming home from work, just drive carefully, the roads will be congested, there will be some areas of deep water, water on the road. If it looks like there is water on the road, just don’t drive through. “It comes at night when the storm passes through, it could be more dangerous,” said Jimmy Erwin, director of the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency.

Click here to read the Heurich family blog while hiking the Appalachian Trail.