ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Plenty of emergency personnel and crews are heading to the Carolinas ahead of Hurricane Florence. 

And some of the help is coming from Florida. 

Tampa Electric already sent 250 linemen, trucks, equipment to Carolinas ahead of expected power outages as Category 4 Hurricane Florence nears.

The storm, already packing 130 mph winds, is expected to hit the Carolinas coast some time Thursday night. 

On Wednesday morning, Duke Energy crews headed out to the region. Duke is sending more than 1,100 crew members to the Carolinas. 

"It includes contractors," said Peveeta Persaud with Duke Energy. "It includes native employees and our line personnel department, vegetation management as well as our damage assessment group so, the crews that we'll be sending will be able to assist from the beginning of restoration as soon as it's safe to begin damage assessments and restoration." 

Duke crews plan on being in Carolina for at least two weeks. However, that could change pending on storm damage.