North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is declaring a state of emergency so state and local officials can better prepare for Hurricane Irma.

Cooper said Wednesday that the storm has the potential to cause trouble for all of North Carolina’s 100 counties.

Cooper said the emergency declaration takes effect at 8 a.m. Thursday. He said at a media briefing residents should also listen to emergency officials and get ready themselves for a storm with a still uncertain track.

The governor says the state is in a somewhat better position compared to Hurricane Matthew last October, when rains from an earlier storm swelled inland waterways by the time the center of the storm arrived.

Cooper says swift-water rescue teams the state sent to Texas for Hurricane Harvey should all be back in North Carolina by Wednesday night.

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