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Web posted Saturday,
September 11, 2004
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Now,
Ivan
For the third time in a month, emergency
management officials are on alert for a major
hurricane.
By Stephanie Ingersoll
Carolina Morning News
As the
deadliest hurricane to hit the Caribbean in a
decade turns north, officials in Beaufort and
Jasper counties are keeping their eyes peeled and
their fingers crossed.
Emergency management
officials in the Lowcountry went to Opcon 4 again
Friday - the third time in a month they've gone on
heightened alert for major
hurricanes.
Operational Condition 4 means
county officials are monitoring the storm and
reviewing disaster plans.
Although it was
too early Friday to tell what course Hurricane
Ivan may take, there is a "strong" possibility the
storm will impact local weather this coming week,
said Jasper County Emergency Management Director
Mike Hodges.
"We're going to keep a real
close eye on it," he said. "It looks at this point
like we may have to gear up toward Sunday. It's in
an area where if it's going to make changes, it's
going to do it now."
It won't take a direct
landfall to make an impact, Hodges said. After
hitting Cuba today, the storm could possibly turn
into the Atlantic and approach the South Carolina
coast. But even if it hits Florida, crosses inland
over Georgia and approaches from the back, there
could still be serious flooding and damage, he
said.
"This one has the potential to be bad
because we're pretty wet from the last one," he
said. "It wouldn't take a lot to start knocking
down trees around here ... We (also) have a lot of
water moving around."
Hurricane Ivan was a
Category 4 hurricane packing 145 mph winds as it
moved toward Jamaica on Friday. It had already
killed 33 people in Grenada.
It's the third
serious hurricane to scare South Carolinians in a
month. The other two hit Florida and Ivan seemed
to be heading in that direction.
Hurricane
Charley, which hit Florida Aug. 13, and Hurricane
Frances, which hit Florida Sunday, killed at least
50 people in the Sunshine State and caused up to
$20 billion in combined damage.
Florida
residents are more anxious than ever as they wait
to see if Ivan will kick them while they're still
down.
Tourists and residents were fleeing
the Florida Keys. Long lines backed up at gas
stations lucky enough to still have fuel after
earlier evacuations. Some residents near the coast
battled heat and humidity without power while
others dealt with overflowing sewers wrought by
Frances.
Boards went back up over windows -
those that ever came down.
Meanwhile,
residents of the Lowcountry will likely spend
another weekend worrying and tuning in to weather
forecasts.
They should also review their
hurricane plans, Hodges said.
Although on
Opcon 4, the Emergency Operations Center in
Beaufort County will not be activated this
weekend. Officials say they will be watching the
situation closely.
If Ivan poses a threat,
it could come as early as Tuesday.
"Based
on information received from the National
Hurricane Center, all residents and visitors are
encouraged to keep an eye on the local media
during the coming week for updates on the storm,"
said a Beaufort County press release
Friday.
For current situation reports,
visit the county's Web site at www.bcgov.net and
follow the links to Emergency
Management.
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