Myrtle Beach emergency manager presents new hurricane evacuation zones to leaders

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Across Myrtle Beach and Horry County, evacuating during a storm could become easier this hurricane season.

Myrtle Beach Emergency Management met with Myrtle Beach City Council on Tuesday to present an update to the evacuation zones.

“We really wanted to simplify our evacuation zones and make it easier to communicate to the public,” said Myrtle Beach Emergency Management Coordinator Travis Glatki.

The hurricane evacuation zone update has been over a decade in the making, as the last hurricane evacuation study was completed in 2013.

Glatki said he’s hopeful these updates will make it easier for people to ‘Know Your Zone’.

“It’s one clear message that everyone can send out and hopefully understand a little bit clearer now,” said Glatki.

After gathering data and surveying the public, Emergency Management decided that fewer people needed to be evacuated during a storm.

“We identified throughout the hurricane evacuation study that certain locations didn’t make the risk criteria,” said Glatki.

With the update, there will be just three evacuation zones in Myrtle Beach and Horry County. Glatki said this will utilize their resources, allowing them to respond to those most at risk during a hurricane.

Oceans One Resort General Manager, Ray Booth knows what it’s like to evacuate a lot of people.

“On a hurricane evacuation, you’re going to have all your rooms checking out on the same day,” said Booth.

He’s hopeful the new evacuation routes will keep traffic moving smoothly in the event of severe weather.

“It will help without having everybody on the road at the same time,” said Booth.

The new evacuation zones will become effective this hurricane season, which starts in June.

Several presentations on the changes will be available to the public in April.

Click here to ‘Know Your Zone’ and learn where to evacuate.

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