SALEM, Va. – Running from Hurricane Florence, South Carolina resident Mary Casey has returned to her hometown of more than 50 years looking for safety.
“We left Tuesday to avoid the flooding in South Carolina. We came up here to Salem to stay,” Casey said.
Although she has found safety here in the mountains, she is concerned about her home near Myrtle Beach.
“There's a power outage where we live. So we're concerned about going back,” Casey said.
But she isn't out of Florence's reach yet.
Just a few minutes up the road, people living off Riverside Drive are worried about the Roanoke River's rising levels.
"I'm concerned about my house that nothing happens to it after we've built it up," said Brandy Akers, a Salem resident.
Roanoke County and Roanoke city are now under states of emergency.
The City of Roanoke's Stormwater Utility crews have been working to clear the area of any debris in preparation for the flooding.
“We have removed trees and debris from stream channels that would cause disruption of water flow,” Dwayne D’Ardenne, utility manager of Roanoke Stormwater said.
Josh Compton, a firefighter in Roanoke city reminds everyone not to take any unnecessary risks when it comes to floodwater.
“In six inches of water, you can be washed away,” Compton said.