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COLUMBIA - From Daufuskie Island to Little River, residents along South Carolina's 187 miles of coast were edgily watching and waiting Wednesday to see whether Hurricane Frances is heading for them.

The National Weather Service says that based on the storm's present path, toward central Florida, it appears the main danger to the Carolinas won't be along the coast, but inland.

"Possibly all of our forecast area is going to see heavy rain; it could end up being a major flood," said Steve Burrus, a meteorologist in the weather service's regional office in Greer, which covers the Charlotte metropolitan area.

Wednesday afternoon, forecasters were still unable to say just what the impact of Frances on the Carolinas would be. But today will bring more certainty.

"Our confidence is much higher in the short range, 72 hours," he said. Forecasters will know more today about the storm's possible impact this weekend, he said.

According to a 5 p.m. Wednesday advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center, Frances is expected to make landfall near Cocoa Beach, Fla., about 2 p.m. Saturday, and then head inland into southern Georgia.

National Guard soldiers in both North and South Carolina have been put on alert for possible duty, but have not been activated.

The hurricane center estimated the chances of the center of Frances passing within 65 miles of Charleston by 3 p.m. Saturday as 9 percent. For Myrtle Beach, the estimate was 6 percent.

Nevertheless, Charleston-area residents, with the memory of Hurricane Hugo's massive destruction still fresh in their minds after 15 years, were taking no chances.

In suburban Mount Pleasant, still cleaning up from the nearly hurricane-force winds of Tropical Storm Gaston on Sunday, residents scarfed up hurricane supplies just in case.

"They're buying everything imaginable -- everything you would need to prepare for a hurricane," said Al Joseph, the administrative manager of Lowe's home improvement store.

Generators and plywood were brisk sellers.

Barbara Vaughn, spokeswoman for Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, said the Hugo experience "has made us very aware of the power and strength of hurricanes. Most of our citizens now know to keep a very close eye on whatever news source they get their weather information from."

In Myrtle Beach, uncertainty about Frances' path has chilled Labor Day weekend hotel bookings. About 70 percent of rooms are booked, compared with the 85 percent that hoteliers were expecting.

"People aren't booking, but they aren't canceling, either," said Gary Loftus, director of the Coastal Federal Center for Economic Development.

At the Palm Tree Inn, a 29-room motel on Myrtle Beach's south end, manager Kenneth Sellers said, "We haven't heard from anybody. I guess they're watching it and just don't want to take the chance."

Meanwhile, President Bush on Wednesday declared a major disaster exists in South Carolina from Hurricane Charley and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in Horry and Georgetown counties, which suffered the worst damage Aug. 14. Gov. Mark Sanford requested help for the entire state, but particularly those two counties, where Charley caused an estimated $5.1 million in damage and expenses.