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Greenwood
keeping eye on radar
August
13, 2004
From
staff reports
Greenwood
and the Lakelands area emergency management offices kept one
eye on the radar and the other on directives from the state
emergency management department Thursday.
Officials worried
that a tropical storm spreading torrential rain into South
Carolina with a hurricane following close behind could swell
creeks and rivers to flood stages.
Steve McDade, Abbeville
County emergency management director, spent the late morning
on a conference call with state officials.
“We could get
anywhere from four to six inches of rain,” he said.
McDade
said the emergency level could be upgraded as the storms get
closer. “We’re watching to see a path,” he said.
The
emergency preparedness agency has contacted utilities and the
American Red Cross to make sure they are prepared.
“We’re
making sure our plans are in place in case something happens
so we’ll be ready,” McDade said.
During the early morning
Thursday, Abbeville County was at an Operating Condition Level
(OPCON) 4, putting emergency management on guarded status.
Greenwood Emergency Preparedness Director Bob Smith also
was following the state office’s direction.
“The state has
gone to OPCON 3 as of about an hour ago (1 p.m. Thursday).
This means that there is an increased probability because of
the projections of (Hurricane) Charley gaining speed,” he
said.
The lower the OPCON number the worse the conditions.
Smith said his radar showed Tropical Storm Bonnie had been
drawn out to “long pencil” conditions. “The bottom part or
‘eye’ seems to be heading east,” he said.
Smith said the
emergency management office has someone periodically check
creek levels to make sure water isn’t overflowing.
Henry
Deason, emergency services director for McCormick County, said
the county was watching the storms closely to see if
precautions need to be taken.
“All we’re doing right now
is keeping a really close eye on it,” he said. “On this end,
we’re expecting to get some pretty heavy rains – maybe two to
four inches – and possibly some 35 mile per hour gusts (of
wind).”
Deason said the county would set up shelters if
necessary, but updates from the National Weather Service show
the eastern part of the state will get hit hardest by the
storms.
“We’re not looking to (open shelters) as of yet,”
he said. “If we need to set up shelters later, we will. Right
now we’re just trying to keep our offices and schools up to
date on the conditions.”
Deason said most creeks and
rivers are not up to flood stage so they should be able to
handle the rainfall.
“We’re just keeping an eye on it,”
said Saluda County Emergency Preparedness Director Frank Wood.
“We’re broadcasting out information to service providers
— Sheriff’s office, police, EMS and fire services. We’re
keeping them abreast of what’s going on.”
As of Thursday
afternoon, there were no plans to open shelters in Saluda
County, he said.
Floods were the county’s first concern,
Wood said.
“We’ve already had 2.9 inches of rain from last
night to now,” he said Thursday afternoon. “And Bonnie hadn’t
even hit us yet. I think the ground saturated like it is
raises the potential for flooding.”
Staff writers
Wallace McBride, Tasha Steimer and Shavonne Potts contributed
to this article.
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