CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Leaders throughout the Lowcountry spent the start of the week preparing for the potential impacts of Tropical Storm Idalia as it gets closer to the Southeast.
On Monday, City of Charleston leaders held a news conference to update the community on how they are getting ready for the storm. Mayor John Tecklenburg encouraged residents to stay home Wednesday night to avoid putting first responders at risk.
Leaders said the storm is expected to hit the same time the city experiences a Blue Moon Tide. Crews prepared for potential flooding later in the week by positioning pumps, clearing ditches, and lowering water levels in area lakes.
The Charleston Fire Department said they are ready to deploy two highwater vehicles as well as other units.
“We recognize that because of the tidal threat, this is going to be a little bit of a different situation for the City of Charleston than it will be for our neighbors. So, we are taking a little bit more aggressive stance than a lot of other jurisdictions will be,” said Ben Almquist, the Director of Emergency Management for the City of Charleston.
In Dorchester County, officials said they were making sure their Emergency Operations Center was ready and participated in calls with agencies across the state.
They said they plan to keep a close watch on areas in the county that frequently flood.
“Our biggest threat for a storm of this type for Dorchester County would be inland flooding due to rain and flash flooding events,” said the county’s Director of Emergency Management, Thomas McNeal.
Berkeley County leaders said they were also coordinating with other agencies. They plan to keep people at home informed with updates on their social media, while encouraging them to take their own precautions like having a kit ready.
“What the government’s doing is all of our emergency support functions stand ready to respond as needed. So, our Roads and Bridges Department has been checking drainage areas and those frequent flooded areas to make sure that we mitigate anything that happens, you know, with clogged drains especially in those really frequent areas that we always have issues,” said Will Rochester, the Director of Emergency Management for Berkeley County.
Along with the City of Charleston and Dorchester County, Berkeley County will distribute sandbags at several locations on a first-come, first-served basis.
The locations are:
“-Moncks Corner: First Street near the railroad tracks on Carolina Avenue (behind Moncks Corner Fire Dept. headquarters)
-Moncks Corner / Summerville: Central Berkeley Fire & EMS Station 3 – 115 Sunview Avenue, Moncks Corner
-Goose Creek: ACROSS FROM Goose Creek City Fire Dept. (201 Button Hall Avenue)
-Huger: Cainhoy Fire Department Station 6 – 1004 United Drive, Huger
-Hanahan: Ballfield at Mabeline Road & Railroad Avenue”
Officials in Georgetown and Charleston Counties said they were coordinating with the National Weather Service and other partners throughout South Carolina. They were still at normal operations on Monday.