RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) - Governor Josh Stein declared a state of emergency for North Carolina on Saturday ahead of Tropical Depression Nine, which is likely to become Tropical Storm Imelda.

"We don't know where it's going to hit on the Atlantic seaboard. North Carolina is a possible target and so we need to be prepared," Stein said.

Officials say they are getting ahead of the storm by deploying the National Guard, Emergency Management and Duke Energy crews.

"We are always watching the next storm and working to get better every storm," Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks said.

This system is coming a year after Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina. Duke Energy crews still remember the heartbreak of seeing the community struggle.

"As we come around on this one-year anniversary of H

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