State tinkers with hurricane evacuation strategy

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The evacuation debacle also left a bad taste in politicians' mouths, so Gov. Mark Sanford announced three major changes to the state's evacuation plan during a tour of coastal cities Tuesday. But the governor, and experts on hurricanes and evacuations, said unless residents heed early warnings, traffic jams will be inevitable.

"It's critical for folks living on the coast to remember that leaving early during the evacuation process is still the best way to stay safe and avoid traffic jams," Sanford said. "I'll be frank — these new options are not going to eliminate traffic jams."

The three major changes are:

* U.S. 501, the main thoroughfare out of Myrtle Beach will be reversed from the S.C. 22 intersection to Marion.

* All lanes of U.S. 278, the only road to and from Hilton Head, will be reversed from Hilton Head to Interstate 95.

* On U.S. 21, the only road to and from Beaufort, half of the traffic will be diverted north on Interstate 95 and the other half will be sent toward Savannah on I-95.

Getting people away from the coast has taken on new importance for state officials with the coast's burgeoning population. Susan Cutter, director of the University of South Carolina's Hazards Research Laboratory, said people will evacuate and take warnings seriously if they have been through a hurricane before — something that many coastal residents have not experienced. Hundreds of thousands of coastal residents have never experienced a direct hit since the population of four major coastal counties — Beaufort, Charleston, Georgetown and Horry — have grown by 25 percent since Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989.

The governor announced the new plans during a three-city swing through Conway, Charleston and Hilton Head.

Along with the new lane reversal alternatives, Gov. Sanford also outlined enhanced plans to open South Carolina's weigh stations and outfit them with portable public restroom facilities during hurricane evacuations.

Forecasters predicted a busy season last spring, with up to 15 tropical storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes. Three tropical storms have already formed — Ana, Bill and Claudette. Claudette made landfall Tuesday along the Texas coast.

Jason Zacher covers the environment and can be reached at 298-4272.