New South Carolina hurricane evacuation zones take effect this year

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - State leaders want coastal residents and visitors to know the new and, they say, improved hurricane evacuation zones that will be used in the event of a major storm in 2024.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation, Emergency Management Department and Highway Patrol leaders analyzed data like past hurricane impacts and population and created the first major zone overhaul in 10 years.

In the event of a hurricane, Gov. Henry McMaster will issue evacuations by zone letter as needed. In the Lowcountry, zones are labeled A through F. State Emergency Management Director Kim Stenson said the new zones will be more effective.

“With the new zones, we’ve actually shrunk the entire evacuation area by about 250 square miles. The main thing that we want to do is we want to ensure that people are out of harm’s way and that they’re not we’re not putting them at risk,” Stenson said. “But at the same time, we want to make sure that we don’t evacuate people that don’t need to be evacuated. They’re very critical as well.”

McMaster made it clear during a Thursday announcement that the evacuation routes have not changed, so many people in the Charleston area can still expect to take I-26 away from the coast.

Click here to see the new zones.

Zone A begins at the coast, covering barrier islands Seabrook, Kiawah, Folly Beach and Isle of Palms. It extends from the Georgia border along the coast to the North Carolina boarder. Zone B moves inward to cover most of James and Johns Islands, downtown Charleston, Daniel Island and Mount Pleasant. Zone C moves out toward West Ashley, and the zones continue inland.

“Those zones have been refined over the years, to where if we have to order an evacuation, we’ll know exactly what needs to be evacuated and we won’t do anything unnecessary,” McMaster said.

Leaders are preparing for a lane reversal exercise on I-26 ahead of hurricane season as well. In the event of a major evacuation, SCDOT and Highway Patrol can order I-26 traffic to flow away from the coast as needed. SCDOT Secretary Justin Powell said the process takes about 400 SCDOT employees and that the I-26 expansion to six lanes, three each way, between Charleston and Columbia is in part to help with future evacuations.

“So we’re adding that lane capacity up so that we’re able to move that volume of traffic out of the Charleston area and the surrounding areas as quickly as possible. During the construction process, however, we stay very active and coordinated with our contractors to make sure that they do mobilize when needed when an evacuation order happens and we’ll go from there,” Powell said.

Officials emphasized homes should have a hurricane preparedness kit, since they might not be evacuated. But in the event of an evacuation, it should be taken very seriously and followed.

“The general rule that we have is that you run from the water and hide from the from the wind, you know, batten down the hatches, but that is certainly a key piece of that. But the main things that we’re concerned about initially, certainly as the surge is, it’s very life threatening and that’s why we evacuate for the surge as opposed to the wind,” Stenson said.

The new zones promise enhanced accuracy, expanded coverage and clear communication. Physical copies will be available in Walgreens stores and South Carolina welcome centers.

Click here to visit the Live 5 News Hurricane Center.

Forecasters at Colorado State University predicted this year’s Atlantic hurricane season to be active with 23 named storms, 11 hurricanes and five major hurricanes.

The probability of a landfalling major hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 111 mph or more, is well above average, experts said.

The climatic phenomenon known as El Niño is expected to transition to a La Niña this fall, which will increase tropical development by lowering vertical wind shear, forecasters said. A tropical Atlantic that’s experiencing record warmth is also expected to help fuel the development of tropical systems.

Last hurricane season was very active, with 20 named storms, the fourth most since 1950, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. Seven storms became hurricanes, and three became major hurricanes.

Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

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