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BEAUFORT, S.C. () – South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and other state officials wrapped up their annual Hurricane Preparedness tour the Beaufort County’s Sheriff’s Office Monday, and they all expressed the same message to low-country residents: start preparing now.
That could mean learning evacuation routes and zones and having the online tools the government is providing, like the 511 SC app.
Gov. McMaster is advising to only get hurricane information from official government sources, and not from social media.
“Very often that information – like how to get from this road to that road – is not only wrong but is dangerous, so get it from the official sources, there’s plenty of those,” says Gov. McMaster.
The governor is especially stressing the importance of taking evacuation orders seriously, saying that there will be a point after they’re ordered when emergency personnel cannot come out.
“When we issue that, that means that’s what you have to do, because if you don’t, and it gets too bad, you can’t call someone to come help you, because they cannot come in. Emergency people cannot come in when it gets so bad, and you’ll be there by yourself until it’s over,” he says.
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As for the state’s level of preparedness, they have 4,000 traffic patrolmen on standby, and Justin Powell, Chief of Staff of the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT), says evacuation signage for all 35 zones is up.
“We’ve been checking, double checking, triple checking our message boards and our traffic cameras to make sure they are ready to allow us to monitor traffic before a storm hits the region, also to monitor during an evacuation order as well,” says Powell.
An important message from both Gov. McMaster and Lt. Colonel J.T. Manley with the South Carolina Highway Patrol is to not use a GPS when evacuating.
“Please don’t follow your GPS,” says Manley, “Because the GPS will take you off your designated route. I cannot emphasize enough, know your zone, know your route, be prepared.”
Gov. McMaster said the worst thing that can happen is that residents do not heed evacuation orders in time, and react too late.
The state will also be issuing surveys to South Carolina residents on how evacuation proceedings can be improved. Officials did not say when they will be distributed.
