Lessons Learned from Hurricane Floyd

Clearly, Hurricane Floyd was a wake-up call for all of us … forecasters, emergency preparedness officials, elected leaders and the general public.

A great deal has changed since Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Our coastal population has grown exponentially. Our infrastructure system is trying hard to keep pace with growth and development. And it was hard to foresee the impact of the largest peacetime evacuation in history.

Immediately after Hurricane Floyd, I appointed a bipartisan commission to examine our hurricane evacuation plan and recommend improvements.

This commission came up with a number of excellent recommendations to improve our emergency preparedness plan.

The plan now includes provisions for early lane reversal of Interstate-26 out of Charleston … and partial reversals as needed for U.S. 501 out of Myrtle Beach and U.S. 278 out of Hilton Head.

The plan for I-26 will utilize all four lanes of the interstate to speed the evacuation … and reverse three out of four lanes on 501 and 278.

We are utilizing traffic cameras on our interstates to monitor traffic flow.

I've named an 18-year veteran of the South Carolina Highway Patrol to serve as our state's first "traffic czar." His primary duty is to paln and oversee large scale evacuations on our roads.

Last month, our traffic czar successfully executed a lane reversal drill on I-26. Our plan works, and it will be in place if … or when … we need it this hurricane season.

Our hurricane plan also provides for multi-state coordination of traffic. More regional coordination will occur, and it will be spearheaded by FEMA's Regional Evacuation Liaison Team.

This team will consider traffic flows from Georgia and Florida, and their impact on evacuations in South Carolina.

Informing the Public

Another lesson that we learned from Floyd is that we needed a better communication network among our traffic control agencies. Many states have similar problems. Jurisdictions haven't focused enough on integrating communications, and we pay the price during emergencies.

Our law enforcement agencies need to do a better job communicating with one another … and with the general public.

We have taken major steps to improve communication with people before, during, and after hurricanes approach. Several mechanisms are in place. The South Carolina Emergency Preparedness Division has compiled a publication that will be distributed in newspapers to almost half-a-million households in potentially affected areas beginning June 11.

The publication features an evacuation route map provided by our Department of Transportation, shelter locations, telephone numbers that people can call for further information, web-site addresses, and instructions regarding what people need to do before, during, and after hurricanes.

DOT will utilize portable message signs … and automated AM radio broadcasts … to communicate with people on the road. Additionally, a Public Information Phone System will provide a public telephone number for people to call for information, including information on shelter locations.

And the S.C. Educational Television and Radio Network will broadcast this information to people both on the road and at home.

Better communication is a key.

Advances in Forecasting

Thanks to Hurricane Floyd, we've made significant advances in emergency preparedness.

These advances were needed to keep pace with both the rapid population growth along our coasts and the significant technological advances in meteorology.

Weather forecasts have improved dramatically in the last decade.

There has been an explosion in the availability of weather information and forecasting technology. You can see hurricane forecasts on the Weather Channel … there's your commercial! … on local affiliates … and on the Internet.

This abundance of information is a good thing. But it sometimes tempts some coastal residents to make their own weather forecasts … or sometimes get mixed signals about the need to take action from different sources.

For example, because the last few hurricanes have hit North Carolina, some coastal residents in South Carolina now believe that "all hurricanes turn north."

But Hurricane Hugo didn't turn north in 1989. It cut a path of destruction from Charleston several hundred miles inland to Charlotte.

Hurricane Andrew didn't turn north in 1992. It leveled south Florida.

And Hurricane Hazel didn't turn north in 1954. Instead, it destroyed more than 80 percent of South Carolina's northern coast … the Grand Strand.

We now understand that every hurricane is different. Every mile of coastline along the Eastern Seaboard is vulnerable to hurricanes. Every coastal resident should prepare for the unexpected.

And despite differences of opinion about projected landfall, we must all work to encourage residents to heed evacuation declarations from state and local governments. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Preparation Begins at Home

And when our coastal residents prepare for hurricanes, keep this in mind: preparation begins at home.

I'd like to speak for a minute to the people watching in their homes. Make sure you and your family already have a plan for what to do in the event of a hurricane. Talk to your children about it. Pick an inland city or a relative's home where you could stay for a few days during a hurricane.

Keep the phone numbers of inland motels handy.

Call the Red Cross and find out where the nearest hurricane shelter is.

Make sure your homeowners insurance is paid up and includes coverage for both flood and storm damage.

When you first see reports of a hurricane developing off the coast, make sure you have a full tank of gas in your car, and … where possible … make arrangements for your family to share one automobile to limit traffic on the road.

Don't wait until the last minute to evacuate. Just because the lanes will be reversed, doesn't mean that there won't be any delays whatsoever.

Don’t expect a normal travel time. Even with lane reversals, some traffic delays are inevitable because of the volume of traffic. Be sure to take plenty of food and water for the drive inland.

We're going to make hurricane evacuations as painless as possible. But there will always be some inconvenience. And I encourage the media here with us tonight to convey that message to our coastal residents.

Conclusion

Each region of the country has to contend with the unexpected. In the Midwest it's tornadoes. In the Northeast … blizzards. In the West … there are forest fires and earthquakes. And in the South, it's hurricanes.

I don't envy the job of meteorologists who have to contend with all of these weather phenomena. You have a tough job, and you do it well.

And I don’t envy the job of emergency preparedness officials. Last year, you oversaw the largest peacetime evacuation in history. It wasn't easy.

But by working together, we can serve the public with accurate weather forecasts and orderly evacuations.

That is the challenge before us. Let's do the job well.