NORTH CAROLINA -- New Hanover County officials declared a state of emergency as the coast is bracing for Hurricane Florence's impact this week.

• New Hanover Schools will be suspended starting Tuesday for the rest of the week.
• While nothing is set in stone, county staff is still arranging shelters and evacuation plans
• The director of emergency management says the storm surge is one of their biggest concerns

The chair of the county board of commissioners also announced Monday that New Hanover Schools will be suspended starting Tuesday for the rest of the week.

While nothing is set in stone, county staff is still arranging shelters and evacuation plans for residents and their pets.

"We do expect it to make landfall as a major hurricane," said NHC Emergency and 911 Director Steven Still. "We do expect it to sit over our general region for a period of time and we do anticipate a full scale activation of our emergency operations center here shortly."

The director of emergency management says the storm surge is one of their biggest concerns, as they may be seeing waves as big as 12 to 15 feet in coastal communities.