Expect Irma evacuation to begin Saturday, SC governor says

Gov. Henry McMaster plans to order some South Carolinians to evacuate Saturday morning as Hurricane Irma moves closer to making its landfall.

The evacuation order, expected to take effect at 10 a.m. Saturday, would affect primarily coastal residents. It will trigger immediate lane reversals along Interstate 26 to carry South Carolinians westbound away from the coast, McMaster said Thursday at the state’s emergency management center.

Some evacuations began Thursday.

As of 2 p.m., the governor ordered health-care facilities in coastal counties to evacuate. The counties affected by the order were Jasper, Beaufort, Colleton, Dorchester, Charleston, Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry.

About 143 healthcare facilities – including hospitals, nursing homes, assisted-living centers and alcohol- and substance-abuse facilities – were in the evacuation order.

Irma was a dangerous Category 5 hurricane as of 5 p.m. Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph. The storm was moving west-northwest off of the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.

However, the storm’s projected track at 5 p.m. had Irma shifting to the west, with its center moving from Florida into Georgia. While still too soon to predict with certainty, the latest track would spare South Carolina some of the storm’s highest winds and rain.

Still damaging winds — up to hurricane force — are possible in Midlands Monday and Monday night, the Columbia office of the National Weather Service said.

Heavy rains could cause some flash flooding but not to the degree the state experienced in the October 2015 flood or Hurricane Matthew in 2016, said John Quagliariello, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Coastal residents can expect dangerous storm surges as Irma moves in a north-westerly track across the Palmetto State, he said.

McMaster also:

▪ Issued an executive order demanding that the owners of 2,370 dams lower water levels in preparation for the heavy rainfall expected with Irma. After dozens of dams failed in 2015’s historic flooding, the state urged dam owners to lower water levels last year before Hurricane Matthew hit, causing heavy rainfall and flooding in some areas of the state.

▪ Said about 200 shelters have been identified, many located in schools. They will open Saturday, McMaster said, if an evacuation is ordered. Roughly 2,900 Social Services and Red Cross personnel will be at the shelters to help evacuees.

▪ Said if Irma continues on the path projected schools and government offices will be closed Monday and Tuesday in some or all of the 46 counties in the state.

Midlands and Upstate schools likely will be closed to clear roads to allow for the evacuation to take place, he said. “We are going to have a lot of people trying to get away from the coast and to go to the Midlands and the Upstate.”

The state also is preparing to provide transportation to S.C. residents who need help evacuating.

S.C. Emergency Management spokesman Derrec Becker said about 300 coach-style buses should be in the state soon to help with evacuations. Residents who may need transportation should call their local emergency management office.

McMaster declared a state of emergency Wednesday as a "precaution" allowing the state to prepare for Irma.

Late Thursday, President Donald Trump granted McMaster’s request to declare a federal emergency in South Carolina. That allows the state to get federal assistance — including equipment, personnel and money — for its disaster-relief efforts.

This story was originally published September 7, 2017 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Expect Irma evacuation to begin Saturday, SC governor says."