The governor toured Hurricane Matthew-damaged Habitat Village and had dinner with a family whose home he helped repair.

As Hurricane Irma lined up to hit the United States — and possibly North Carolina — Gov. Roy Cooper in Fayetteville on Tuesday urged residents to be prepare themselves.

“It’s never too early to be ready,” Cooper said during a visit to the city’s Habitat Village neighborhood, where last year’s Hurricane Matthew caused severe flood damage.

“And people need to be ready in their homes,” Cooper said. “They need to have their hurricane preparedness package ready. They need to have an escape plan, particularly if they live in or near a flood zone.”

The state is working closely with local officials, the governor said, and state agencies “are gearing up.”

“Our people are ready for this,” he said. “We’ve been through it before. We can deal with it again if we have to.”

Cooper was in Fayetteville on Tuesday to see the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Matthew. He walked up and down Sessoms Street as Habitat for Humanity officials discussed the progress they and the residents have made. Habitat for Humanity, which has helped lower income families build houses here, hopes that by the end of October all the residents will be returned to their homes.

Cooper also had dinner with the family of Charles and Mary Wright of Sessoms Street. In April, Cooper visited the Wrights’ home and briefly helped them make repairs.

The house had 2 feet of water in it during the storm, Mary Wright said, and then termites caused more damage. The home was gutted and the interior rebuilt.

Wright, her husband and their youngest daughter, who is in college, moved back home in June.

The family gave Cooper a brief tour before settling down to have dinner with him. “It was just a nice, friendly family meal,” Wright said.

Cooper and his wife, Kristin, brought fried chicken, Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes and apple pie, Wright said.

Hurricane Irma is on the family’s minds. They will be packing their bags in case they need to evacuate again, she said.

“To be honest, I don’t want Irma to come. I want Irma to stay on the sea where she’s at,” Wright said. “But I know there’s nothing we can really do to prevent it. All we can do is pray and hope for the best.”

Staff writer Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@fayobserver.com, 910-486-3512 and 910-261-4710.