COLUMBIA, S.C.—During a news conference in Columbia on Tuesday, Governor Nikki Haley declared a state of emergency, putting approximately 1,800 guardsmen on standby for the potential threat of Hurricane Matthew.
“We have a hurricane that seems to be hugging the coastline and steering towards South Carolina,” warned Haley. “We are looking at a category 2 or 3 hurricane which means the possibility of five to seven foot storm surges. Keep in mind that half of the fatalities we see is sometimes when the water comes on shore. We anticipate 100 mile per hour winds.”
Haley has ordered coastal evacuations for the following counties: Aiken, Allendale , Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Lee, Lexington, Marrington, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Richland, Sumter and Williamsburg.
Greenville County will also be providing Charleston County with 235 regular school buses and 108 special needs school buses to move residents from Charleston into the Upstate, Haley stated during the news conference.
According to Haley, all coastal schools and government offices will be closed starting Wednesday morning.
The governor expects the coastal evacuations to begin at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
“We are doing this to prepare for all of the evacuations that we will start Wednesday afternoon, explained Haley. “We ask that everybody start getting your things together. Start contacting your family and starting thinking about where you’re going to go.”
The South Carolina Emergency Management Division estimates that as many as 1.1 million people will be taking part in the evacuations over the next few days.
Approximately 712 troopers and 1,543 other law enforcement officers will also be assisting with evacuations, according to Haley.
“We will be putting in lane reversals. There will be certain evaluation routes you’ll want to take,” stated Haley. “They can be found by going to scemd.org. Comfort stations can be found along the way where you can take restroom breaks and get water.”
For residents who live in those coastal counties mentioned above, Haley is urging them to fuel up their vehicles as soon as possible and leave early. Once drivers get on the evacuation routes, they’re encouraged to stay there.
“Once you get off, it’s hard to get back on. Our goal is to make sure you get at least 100 miles away from the coast,” stated Haley. “It’s not going to be a fast evacuation, but we ask that you be patient and understand that this could take up to several hours.”
SDHEC is expected to begin medical evacuations on Wednesday morning, too. The South Carolina Forestry Commission will also enforce a ban on burning that same day.
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