Statement from WCTI General Manager Matt Bowman

NEW BERN, Craven County — NewsChannel 12 employees had to evacuate the station Thursday evening due to rising waters caused by Hurricane Florence.

Luckily, everyone made it out OK but we had to rely on the superior coverage of Sinclair Broadcasting station WPDE in Myrtle Beach,S.C., while we regroup. Below is a statement from General Manager Matt Bowman on our status.

Our first priority is always the safety and well-being of our staff and we are happy to report that all employees from the WCTI station are safe following a sudden evacuation.

Our commitment to delivering critical information to our viewers can, at times, put us in harm's way, particularly with major weather-related events. As such, we were continuously in contact with our WCTI team throughout the week as we monitored the situation and planned for contingencies.

When the conditions in the area intensified suddenly, we made the call to have our news staff evacuate the area and team up with our sister station WPDE in Myrtle Beach to continue covering the storm and providing our viewers with vital, potentially life-saving, information.