WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- A Winston-Salem woman has warnings about Hurricane Florence after her brush with Hurricane Hugo when it came inland nearly 30 years ago.

• Betsy Annese remembers Sept. 22, 1989, when Hurricane Hugo came inland
• She warns North Carolinians to heed warnings about the hurricane coming inland
• Annese recounts how a tree fell on her car with her inside

"I had been up all night long, watching television, because I owned property on the Isle of Palms, where the eye came through," said Betsy Annese remembering Sept. 22, 1989.

Annese lived along the 600 block of Stratford Road in Winston-Salem, in the historic Buena Vista neighborhood.

She decided to head to work despite the storm pushing hurricane force gusts inland. That brought down one of the 100-plus-year-old oaks onto her car.

"It fell diagonally on the roof, I kind of went forward like this, and the next thing I knew, I looked around and I was covered by camouflage, all the leaves from the tree,” said Annese. "The car was covered in hot wires from the overhead electrical wires," said Annese.

Annese is a retired Reynolds Tobacco vice president. She called her boss to tell him what happened. Company headquarters downtown was also seeing problems.

“He said he saw people being blown over on Main Street, the atmospheric pressure was so great that people were trying to open their office doors and they could not get in," said Annese.

She was banged up, but not seriously injured and spent about a week recovering.

"People talk about PTSD, I kept hearing the sound of that tree falling on the car, over and over and over and over, in my head,” said Annese.

She’s cautioning residents in central North Carolina to heed the warnings that Florence could also come inland.

"When the law enforcement and the people with the emergency agencies say stay at home, they are serious," said Annese. “Take that advice. There's no reason to risk your life out there."