Residents urged to be ready for peak of hurricane season

EFFINGHAM — As the peak of hurricane season nears and one named system has already skirted the Carolinas’ coast, experts say now is the time Pee Dee residents should be preparing for the possibility of a powerful storm affecting the area.

Most residents know it’s essential to be ready during the hurricane season, but some have grown complacent because it has been a decade since a major storm has effected the Pee Dee, Florence County Emergency Management Natural Hazards Coordinator Kristy Hughes said.

“Those that were here during (Hurricane) Hugo remember how bad that was. If there were to be a significant hurricane, those people — they would remember — they would be prepared,” she said. “Those who are new to the area and have not lived through a hurricane may not know what to expect. Until you live through it, you don’t really know what to expect.”

Other hurricanes have affected the area, but not to the same extent as the October 1989 system that brought Hugo, Hughes said.

“It’s been so long. (Hurricane Floyd) was kind of a glancing blow, it wasn’t as significant as Hurricane Hugo,” she said.

Inland areas don’t have the threat of storm surges that are so dangerous for coastal areas. But for Florence County, the biggest concerns related to a hurricane are high winds, tornados and inland flooding because of rain and thunderstorms.

Still, some think tropical systems mean fun and excitement, Hughes said.

“Some people, when there’s a storm coming in they think, ‘Oh great. Let’s go have a hurricane party.’ They want to go to the coast. They want to know what it’s about,” she said.

Instead of being adventurous, Hughes said, residents should be making sure they have a family disaster plan and a supply kit.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has specified on its Web site, www.fema.gov, what the kit should contain. A weather radio, flashlights and batteries to power these items for several days are some of the suggested contents, Hughes said.

Non-perishable foods should be on hand, as well as important papers.

Insects and wild animals displaced by a storm can be a problem, so residents should make sure they have safe footwear and long-sleeved clothing, too, she said.

Residents taking prescription drugs should keep at least a seven-day supply handy. If possible, Hughes said, get the prescription refilled before a storm hits.

Florence County Emergency Management is leading the way in storm preparedness by constantly training and updating its systems, Hughes said. As soon as a storm is named, officials turn to a program called Hurrevac to track the storm.

“We are going to monitor it as if it were going to come inland,” she said. “You hope that the forecasted track is correct, but if not you don’t want to be caught unaware.”

Once it becomes apparent a storm will make landfall, Florence County Emergency Management have conference calls with state emergency officials and representatives from counties that are under evacuation orders, Hughes said. Then, once the winds from a storm subside, county firefighters will go out and do a “snapshot” damage assessment and report their findings to the emergency management team.

The team, in turn, will work with the tax assessor’s and planning offices to do a more detailed, damage assessment, she said.