Hurricane Alex did minimal damage in South Carolina. It did, however, provide a timely reminder that with hurricane season in full swing, we might not be as lucky with the next storm's course -- and that bad luck could come soon. That's why prudent preparation for the emergency situations that hurricanes can impose -- including a massive evacuation of the coastal population -- is such a vital issue in our state.
Gov. Mark Sanford and other state officials delivered this reassuring news Tuesday: The S.C. National Guard, despite making a major contribution to the U.S. mission in Iraq, retains sufficient home-state strength to handle a hurricane-recovery mission here. And though the equipment needed for hurricane recovery is in limited supply at this point, S.C. Emergency Management Director Ron Osborne said "we should be OK" on that front, even if forced to lease such items as generators, bulldozers and water purifiers after a major storm.
Other state agencies also appear ready and able to handle a hurricane if it comes. Hard lessons were learned by the 1999 Hurricane Floyd debacle, when an evacuation order for the coast produced virtual gridlock on I-26 and other roadways as state officials failed to maximize inland-bound traffic flow by reversing lanes in a timely manner. Fortunately, Floyd turned far enough north to prevent a catastrophe.
The mistakes made during the Floyd evacuation evidently will not be repeated. The Department of Public Safety, the Department of Transportation and other agencies have conducted several lane-reversing evacuation exercises in the last five years, fine-tuning the process along the way .
Still, evacuating our crowded coast will be difficult. The remarkable population growth along our coast has far outpaced the building of new roads. And as Gov. Sanford warned Tuesday, while state authorities will do all they can to facilitate an orderly, effective response to a hurricane, the public's response will be a crucial factor when -- not if -- that challenge presents itself.
The governor explained: "One thing I want South Carolinians to be aware of is that they should take personal responsibility for their welfare and not rely on government."
That means developing a personal plan for a hurricane -- and, if needed, leaving the coast -- before it's too late.
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