With Hurricane Frances lurking in the Atlantic, the Berkeley County supervisor is doing what he does before every storm: making sure county generators are gassed up, employees are on standby and sleeping bags and food are dropped off at the county's emergency operations center.

All told, about 200 employees, from sheriffs deputies to road crews, will ride out the storm in several fortified county buildings if it hits. They'll be ready to move out and help residents once the storm passes and the winds subside.

"We have our teams all set up. We prepare for these things months in advance," said Rozier, who was getting weather updates every four hours Tuesday. "The only thing we don't protect are the liquor stills."

Rozier is not alone. Local governments across the Lowcountry are busy this week meeting with department heads, reviewing weather projections and preparing for the dreaded possibility that Charleston could be ground zero for Frances' strike.

For most, the task of battening down the hatches is a complicated game of coordination, but one officials have learned all too well, thanks to storms such as Hugo, Floyd and last week's surprise sucker punch from Tropical Storm Gaston.

If there was a silver lining to that storm, Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said it gave residents a chance to dust off their hurricane-preparedness skills.

"I really saw Gaston as a beneficial scrimmage, a practice," Riley said. "Probably many of us did go ahead and stock up on batteries."

Preliminary insurance-industry estimates put damage totals from Gaston at a minimum of $6.3 million and climbing.

Despite Frances' broad target area ranging from Florida to North Carolina, state officials are not taking any chances.

Will Folks, spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford, said emergency response units have been put on standby and the National Guard has been notified of the potential for activation.

"Given the size of the storm and the fact that South Carolina is in the forecast window, it's something people should take very seriously," Folks said.

"As the governor has said many times, you don't want to scare folks, but when you have a class-four monster potentially headed your way, you need to prepare, because you can replace property but you can't replace a human life."

That preparation for local officials means lining up emergency response and cleanup crews to wait out the storm.

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said if Frances hits, about 75 vital staff members, including most department heads, will be hunkered down at City Hall.

Dozens of other city employees, including firefighters, and public works teams, will be on standby to spring into action to clear roadways, help injured residents and direct traffic.

"We are telling our people to be alert and ready and to start taking care of their own property. Tonight I'm going to be buying wood to board up my windows to get ready a little early," Summey said. "If I wasn't the mayor of North Charleston, I'd haul it out with my family."

Cathy Haynes, deputy director of the Charleston County Emergency Preparedness division, said people need to start getting ready. That means storing water, batteries and candles in case power is knocked out, as it was this week for many residents.

Officials also said people need to monitor the news for potential evacuations.

"As far as the public and the people, if they haven't gotten themselves prepared before now, they definitely need to do so," she said. "If Frances comes anywhere near us, it will definitely be a lot worse than the last one. People need to be ready if that happens."

Crews have been racing this week to clean up the remnants of Gaston's havoc before a possible hit by Frances, fearing that piles of tree limbs could become flying missiles in a storm.

While Gaston may have been a far cry weaker than the Category 4 Frances, preliminary industry estimates show the storm scored a hit. More than 3,100 insurance claims have been called in to insurers from home and auto owners.

The worst of the damage, in Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms and North Charleston, resulted from trees falling on homes and floodwaters washing through cars.

A survey by the South Carolina Insurance News Service showed claims ranging between $1,500 and $5,000.

The Columbia-based group polled 20 insurers doing business in the state and that account for 65 percent of the property and casualty market.

"The numbers didn't grow as fast today as we expected," said Allison Dean Love, the group's executive director. "Maybe most of the claims came in on the first. But there will certainly be more to come."

Gaston-related insurance claims statewide rose to $6.3 million in property damages late Tuesday and the tally is expected to move higher in coming days, an industry trade group said.

Dean Love sees the claim figures climbing past the $8 million to $10 million recorded by Hurricane Charley earlier this month.

Official estimates put out by Property Claims Service, an assessment unit of New Jersey's Insurance Service Office, are expected next week.

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