South Carolina has ramped up plans to evacuate or shelter people before a hurricane, then feed and house them afterward, in response to Katrina's devastation of Gulf states last year.

That was the message from Gov. Mark Sanford and other officials Friday - even as disaster relief agencies continued to nail down shelter locations, and money budgeted for generator hook-ups, communication equipment and other improvements squeaked its way through the General Assembly.

Details of the plans will be provided in storm guides published by the state, The Post and Courier and others as hurricane season opens next week.

Friday's news conference in North Charleston was the latest sign of the urgency to storm preparations that has permeated federal, state, local and private efforts this spring. Katrina in 2005 flooded New Orleans, killed more than a thousand, stranded hundreds of thousands and became the costliest hurricane in the country's history.

Sanford acknowledged the edginess when he answered a question about whether the lines of authority had been clearly drawn between federal and state agencies by saying, "One of the big dangers is too many cooks in the kitchen. I think in the wake of Katrina, the federal government is not going to want to wait" to respond to a hurricane.

He agreed a sense of uneasiness among residents seems widespread this year. "Well, we're due. Though we have been spared for a long while here, we're more than due," he said. "Maybe not this year. Maybe not next year. But it's a mathematical certainty that South Carolina will be hit again."

As part of the state's hurricane preparations, the proposed budget includes money for hookups for generators at all shelters east of Interstate 95, satellite phones and radio equipment, warehousing of a three-day supply of water, MREs and tarps for 50,000 people.

As the generator hookup money works its way through the General Assembly, no Charleston County shelter except for its special medical-needs shelter is able to run a generator. Only 20 of 53 special needs shelters across the state have generator capacity. Berkeley County's special-needs shelter at Berkeley Intermediate School is among shelters without it.

People who require power for medical equipment or to keep medicines cool must go to a shelter that has generator capacity.

Emergency workers said they don't expect money to be available for hookups in time for this season. Ron Osborne, S.C. Emergency Management Division director, said it's possible but will be difficult, particularly if there is are early storsm. Special-needs shelters will be first priority, he said.

"Katrina was the ultimate wake-up call," Sanford said. "It showed the importance of there being no substitute for time, no substitute for self-initiative." But polls show three of every five people have no storm plan at all, and two of every three have no storm survival kit. He stressed the necessity of people having their own storm evacuation and recovery plans and supplies.

"It's important people take self-planning to heart," Sanford said. "If you see something coming you don't like out there in the Atlantic, move inland. Don't wait for a mandatory evacuation. Don't wait for a voluntary evacuation."

Disaster plans

Among the state's hurricane disaster plan improvements:

-- New access routes on Interstate 26 for lane reversal evacuations and a more streamlined return of two-way traffic in Columbia. More portable toilets and water at rest stops. Working with distributors to provide more fuel along routes. An improved timeline for evacuations and lane reversals.

-- Space for 19,000 new shelter beds, bringing the total beds to 150,000. In comparison, at the height of Hurricane Hugo efforts, 90,000 beds were used. Locations for temporary housing sites and contact with housing providers.

-- In Charleston County, an improved route of stops for transporting people to shelters using school and CARTA buses.

Reach Bo Petersen at bpetersen@postandcourier.com or 745-5852.