Public transportation for evacuees ending Friday afternoon

Public transportation for Myrtle Beach residents evacuating zone A will be suspended at 2 p.m. Friday because of safety concerns, according to a statement from Coast RTA.

Transpiration for residents evacuating zones B and C were suspended at noon. Coast RTA buses will begin transporting residents back into all zones once the evacuation order has been lifted.

Transportation services in the rest of Horry County have not been affected.

The safety issue is that buses cannot operate in 40 mph winds, the statement said.

A hurricane warning was issued Friday morning for Horry County. Sustained tropical storm force winds are forecast to begin Friday night for southern areas, and Saturday morning for coastal N.C. areas, weather authorities said.

Gusts could be more than 60 mph along the coast and 40 to 50 mph range farther inland.

Meanwhile, numerous shelters are consolidating due to low occupancy rates of evacuees. Instead of 14 shelters, these seven will be operational during the storm in Horry County:

▪  Aynor High School

▪  Conway High School

▪  Green Sea Floyds Middle and High School

▪  Loris High School

▪  North Myrtle Beach High

▪  Palmetto Bay Elementary School

▪  Whittemore Park Middle

Residents are being encouraged to evacuate the area using other means of transportation. The evacuation was ordered by Gov. Nikki Haley.

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 1:14 PM with the headline "Public transportation for evacuees ending Friday afternoon."