South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD)

I encourage you to directly contact 211 or visit http://www.scemd.org.

For more information, follow @SCEMD on Twitter and Facebook.

County emergency management offices’ contact information can be found here: http://www.scemd.org/who-we-are/county-agencies. 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Residents of Marion and Orangeburg Counties who were affected by Hurricane Matthew can now apply for Individual Assistance.

Please visit www.DisasterAssistance.gov to apply online or call 800.621.3362 or TTY 800.462.7585.

You can apply in person by visiting a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC). Download the FEMA App to find the nearest location: https://www.fema.gov/mobile-app.

Information You Will Need:

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Recipients

If an individual is a current SNAP recipient, the timing and amount of their monthly benefits was not affected by Hurricane Matthew. Current SNAP recipients may apply for a replacement of all or part of their October benefits if they lost food as a result of Hurricane Matthew and/or power outages lasting more than four (4) hours. 

Clients must apply for a replacement in person at a county DSS office. Applicants should be prepared to provide some form of verification to substantiate that their homes were in the affected areas, and that they suffered a loss of food. Types of verification include:

South Carolina is not operating a Disaster SNAP program at this time. If an individual does not have food or water in the next 24-48 hours and it is safe to travel from their location, they should visit their local food bank.

If a constituent is not currently receiving SNAP benefits and needs assistance on an ongoing basis, he or she may apply for SNAP benefits online, in person, or by mail or fax. For information on how to apply online or download an application to print out, visit the DSS website at ww.dss.sc.gov. To apply, an individual should visit their local county DSS office. If they live in an area affected by Hurricane Matthew, please check the EMD website or call the local DSS office before they visit to make sure it is open.

Other Assistance (Food, Clothing, Shelter)

South Carolina residents continuing to recover from Hurricane Matthew should call 211 for any other assistance needs for food, clothing and shelter. Callers will be connected to local relief supplies where available.

People who need assistance with debris clean-up and cleaning up their homes and property can call the Multi-Agency Clean-Up Assistance Hotline at 800.451.1954.

SCEMD’s website, http://scemd.org, lists emergency shelter status statewide and is updated in real-time by the South Carolina Department of Social Services. Please note that shelters cannot accommodate specific dietary restrictions, including allergies. Individuals should pack food accordingly.

Price Gouging

If you suspect price gouging, tweet pictures and documentation to @SCPriceGouging, call 803.737.3953 or email pricegouging@scag.gov. For more information, visit: http://www.scag.gov/archives/29113.

Employment Concerns

If you have concerns or questions about your employment or pay being affected by Hurricane Matthew, please contact 866.831.1724 or visit https://mybenefits.dew.sc.gov/_sso/MyDew/DEWLogon.aspx?ru.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance is available for two counties affected by Hurricane Matthew. These are Marion and Orangeburg Counties.

Individuals must first apply for regular unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. To apply, call 1-866-831-1724 or go to mybenefits.dew.sc.gov. The deadline for applying is 30 calendar days from the date that the county was declared a disaster. If the individual is found to be ineligible for UI benefits, a DEW representative will contact them directly and will assist with the DUA application.

Applications filed after the deadline will be considered untimely and DUA benefits may be denied unless the individual provides good cause for filing after that date. Applicants must submit their Social Security number, check stubs and other documentation to support the claim that they were working or self-employed when the disaster occurred. In some cases, additional documentation may be required.

Please check www.dew.sc.gov/dua for updates on this program.

Insurance Claims

The South Carolina Department of Insurance will host Catastrophe Claims Centers in affected areas to help constituents with processing insurance claims. For more information, please visit http://www.doi.sc.gov/847/Hurricane-Matthew-Storm-Preparedness for more information.

Well Testing

For citizens who need to test their private wells, please contact the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) at 803.898.4312.

Dam Status

To check the status of dams or to proactively report the status of private dams, please contact DHEC at the same number as above, 803.898.4312.

Consumer Affairs

If you believe you were a victim of unethical business practice, you can file a formal complaint with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs by visiting the website at www.Consumer.sc.gov or by contacting them at 803-734-4200 or scdca@scconsumer.gov.  Another option would be to report your case to the Better Business Bureau at https://www.bbb.org/consumer-complaints/file-a-complaint/get-started.

Donating and Volunteering

The best way for citizens to help with short and long-term recovery efforts from Hurricane Matthew is to donate monetarily to the One SC Fund. Citizens can donate by visiting http://www.OneSCFund.org.  

For citizens who wish to help or want to donate goods, we strongly encourage them to do so locally since nonprofits in your area need to restock supplies and volunteers. For more information on how to help, please visit http://www.VolunteerSC.org or call 888.585.9643.

If you have further questions, please email me directly at ombudsman@emd.sc.gov.

Sincerely,

Hal Peters

Office of the Governor