Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold activated his county’s emergency operations center as Tropical Storm Hanna approaches the East Coast.
“Our priorities are to have our personnel ready for the aftermath and to keep the public informed,” Leopold said in a statement.
The center is expected to open 7 a.m. Saturday, about five hours after Hanna is expected to make landfall in South Carolina.
Hanna is expected to pass over Maryland with winds around 40 mph and extensive rainfall that could dump inches of rain in the area.
Anne Arundel was hard hit by Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003, with extensive flooding in Annapolis and the county’s Chesapeake Bay shoreline.
The Bay area is under a hazardous weather watch.
The emergency operations center is expected to monitor Hanna and send out first responders and workers to areas hit hardest by the storm, officials said.
Anne Arundel plans to send a message out through its reverse 9-1-1 telephone system.
Leopold is calling on county residents to gather supplies such as water and first-aid kits in the event of a prolonged power outage.
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