ORLANDO, Fla. -- While residents of the east coast try to escape Hurricane Florence's path, Florida is also preparing resources to send up to the Carolinas to help in the aftermath of the storm.

Duke Energy said more than 1,100 employees and contractors from Florida will roll out as early as Wednesday.

The company -- headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina -- is hoping to avoid serious power outage issues such as the ones experienced in Florida after Hurricane Irma last year, when thousands of people were stuck in the dark for weeks. The company apologized at least twice for delays in restoring power.

The Salvation Army is also sending support to the mid-Atlantic: It has a team from the Orlando area joining other volunteers from across the state, including the Tampa Bay area. The Orlando-area team is taking a 53-foot refrigerated feeding support trailer.

There will be up to 100 volunteers.

“It makes you feel good ... to help (people) feel better for the trauma they are going through,” said 76-year-old Bill Sweet of Orlando, who has volunteered to assist with several natural disasters, including 2017 hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

A two-county "strike team" from Orange and Seminole counties left Tuesday morning on an eight-day deployment to Wilmington, North Carolina. The strike team, which consists of three Orange and two Seminole rescue vehicles, will join five ambulance strike teams from across Florida to help evacuate hundreds of patients from coastal health care centers.

Also, two members of the St. Cloud Fire Rescue Department have been deployed to North Carolina to assist with evacuation efforts. They are one of 25 crews from Florida heading to North Carolina to help with evacuations.

Florida Power and Light Company also announced Tuesday evening that it will send 500 of its employees and contractors the the Carolinas to provide assistance in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Reporter Matt Fernandez contributed to this story.