Columbia officials proclaimed Friday they’re ready for Irma. Are they right?

The capital city’s homeless won’t be left to the elements of Hurricane Irma next week, officials said Friday.

Columbia’s winter shelter will be open Monday night, and the downtown Transitions homeless center will accept up to 400 homeless people during daylight hours. Transitions also will feed the homeless a 5 p.m. meal Monday, officials said during a news conference to proclaim that the Columbia area is ready for the hurricane.

Monday is predicted to be the worst day of the storm.

“We’re prepared. We’re ready for about anything that hits us,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said of forecasts that call for of 4 to 7 inches of rain.

Extra police and deputies will be out as needed.

Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook offered this advice to college students who don’t have to go to classes because local universities are closing Monday: “We will be up-staffing in Five Points for those who chose not to study.”

City manager Teresa Wilson, along with Mayor Steve Benjamin, public safety and utilities officials, assured the community that they are ready.

Among the preparations:

▪  Barricades are in place in the city in flood-prone areas to keep motorist from driving into deep water.

▪  The COMET bus system will shuttle homeless and others needing transportation to shelters, including the city’s homeless shelter.

▪  Bottled water stations around the community are ready to be opened.

▪  Trash pick-ups scheduled for Monday will be postponed a day.

▪  The city’s website (columbiasc.net) will be a one-stop site for updated information on a range of services.

This story was originally published September 8, 2017 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Columbia officials proclaimed Friday they’re ready for Irma. Are they right?."