HURRICANE FLORENCE UPDATE #2
September 9, 2018 2:00 pm
As of 11:00 am on Sunday, 9 September, the National Hurricane Center reported upgrading of Tropical Storm Florence to a hurricane. During the Charleston County Emergency Management Department (Charleston County EMD) noon conference call 9 September, the County announced it had increased its emergency response readiness status to OP CON 3 at 8:00 am on Sunday, 9 September. As reported by Charleston County EMD, there is a potential, depending on the course and strength of Hurricane Florence, that the Governor could order evacuation as early as 4:00 pm on Monday, 10 September affecting some or all South Carolina coastal communities. The course and strength of Florence continues to change. As of 2:00 pm, 9 September, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasting reflects that the Charleston area will not encounter impacts of tropical storm force winds before early morning, Thursday, 13 September.
In accordance with Town policy to follow the lead of Charleston County, as of 12:00 pm on Sunday, 9 September the Town has increased its emergency response readiness status to OP CON 3–indicating that a disaster or emergency event is likely or imminent. Town Hall will be open for normal business hours on Monday, 10 September. In the event of an evacuation order by the Governor applicable to Seabrook Island, all Town services will be suspended. Local emergency services may not be able to respond during storm impacts.
The Town urges residents to continue to monitor reporting of Hurricane Florence and emergency response agencies for changes pertaining to potential storm impacts. Information concerning residential hurricane preparations is available at the Town’s website (townofseabrookisland.org) under “Emergency Preparedness”. Residents are reminded that evacuation before an order by the Governor is the best way to ensure availability of a relatively direct route to a preferred evacuation destination.
For emergency response call 91l.
For questions concerning non-emergency assistance during a state of emergency, call the Charleston County Citizen’s Information Hotline (843-746-3900).
For emergency response information for Seabrook Island, call the Town ‘s toll free telephone service (888-314-3177), or connect to the Town’s website (townofseabrookisland.org) and monitor the Town’s TWITTER feed (@seabrookislnd87) for announcements of availability of information updates.
Property Owners with rental guests should forward this notice to their rental guests.
It is expected that the next emergency information update will be issued by the Town in the early afternoon on Monday, 10 September.
–Submitted by Town of Seabrook Island