S.C. uses lessons from last year's hurricane season

Officials' main advice: Prepare yourself; don't wait for government

BRUCE SMITH

Associated Press

CHARLESTON - With another hurricane season looming, the horror of one of the worst natural disasters in American history is not lost on those who must deal with preparing for a major storm in South Carolina.

Last year, Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,300 people, left hundreds of thousands homeless and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage along the Gulf Coast.

South Carolinians watched and read in horror, and later hundreds flocked to the disaster area to help out. Now emergency officials are applying some of the lessons learned in this year's Palmetto State preparations.

"The biggest thing we try to tell people is, prepare and don't wait for the government to take care of them," said Shawn Jones, a senior project manager with the Charleston County Emergency Preparedness Division. "It's personal -- a personal responsibility to be prepared."

"Don't rely on the government to do it for you," agreed Randy Webster, director of the Horry County Emergency Management Department. "We're here to help, but you have to rely on yourself."

17 named storms expected

The hurricane season from June 1 through the end of November will be another busy one, according to Colorado State University researchers led by William Gray.He expects 17 named storms, but not as many striking land as last year -- the most destructive season on record, with 27 named storms and 14 hurricanes.

But last year was mild for South Carolina, with only Ophelia threatening the northern coast before moving away. The busiest season on record in the state was 2004, when seven storms affected the state and two hurricanes made landfall.

Despite such a busy season and even after Katrina, "you have the complacency that `It's not going to happen to me,' " Jones said.

At this year's hurricane and emergency management conference, Gov. Mark Sanford urged planners in South Carolina to "imagine the unimaginable."

He said that while people tend to judge storms by property damage, Katrina was a wake-up call that lives are at stake.

South Carolina is overdue for a strike, the governor said.

The last major hurricane to hit the state was Hugo in 1989, a Category 4 that made landfall at Charleston and moved up to Charlotte.

Georgetown County

In the wake of Katrina, Georgetown County is setting up an auxiliary county operations center farther inland.

The offices and emergency management center in downtown Georgetown are only 1.5 blocks from the Sampit River. Even during near misses from hurricanes, merchants are out along Front Street putting sandbags in front of their stores.

County emergency manager Lewis Dugan said the backup center will have administrative offices, including a payroll department, allowing the county to continue operating even if a major storm hits.

That came in part after seeing how New Orleans city operations were crippled by Katrina, he said.

Charleston County

In Charleston County, there are plans to have more shelters that accept pets after pets were lost or wandering after Katrina."We encourage people to evacuate and take their pets with them," Jones said, but added those who don't will need shelter for themselves and their animals.

Beaufort County

Beaufort County plans a new system for evaluating structures damaged in a storm using colored cards.

Green would allow a homeowner to return and make limited repairs; yellow would allow people to return but require structural repairs before they move in permanently; a red card would mean major damage preventing re-entry.

Colleton County

Neighboring Colleton County is updating plans to make sure elderly and disabled people can be evacuated after the problems moving people out of New Orleans."We are looking closely to make sure we have adequate transportation," said Suzanne Gant, who heads the county's Emergency Preparedness Department.

Horry County

Horry County held its first local hurricane exposition this year, attracting several hundred people. It included concurrent sessions, one for residents and one for businesses, on how to prepare and then deal with the aftermath of a storm.

County officials are confident evacuation plans will run smoothly if a storm threatens.

"On a catastrophic storm -- a Category 4 or 5 -- we're looking at a 30-hour evacuation time," Webster said. "But that will continue to increase as the growth increases exponentially."

Lane reversals on U.S. 501 worked well during Hurricane Charley two years ago, but growth will be a problem.

"We don't have any major highways under construction right now, and it would be five or six or seven years even if they started now," Webster said.

Interstate 73 would provide another hurricane escape route in the northern end of the county, and planning is starting for another route leading inland in the southern part of the county.

Preparing is crucial

But whether an evacuation or just riding out a smaller storm, it comes back to people preparing to take care of themselves, Webster said."The biggest change we have had this year is community awareness -- that people need to get prepared before storms, and the preparations have to start with the individual," he said.

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