Hurricane prep: Horry County announces a major change to its public shelter operations
If the Myrtle Beach area encounters a category 2 or larger hurricane during the coronavirus pandemic, some residents will be bused out of town for shelter, officials say.
Assistant Administrator for Public Safety Randy Webster announced during Tuesday’s Horry County Council meeting that the procedure for public shelter during a large hurricane would be drastically different in 2020 because of the effects of COVID-19. Those seeking public shelter would be loaded onto buses and transported outside the county.
“Let’s use these shelters as a true last resort,” Webster said. “If there’s a place that you can go, that’s the recommended process now.”
Under the plan, Coast RTA would pick up people seeking shelter and take them to transfer stations, where motor coaches would take 45-60 people at a time to destinations to be determined as a hurricane threat approaches. The motor coaches are based in Orangeburg.
“If you get on the bus and it’s a category 2 or higher storm, you’re leaving Horry County,” Webster said. “Now is the time to start figuring out what to do.”
Should Horry County encounter a category 1 hurricane, procedures would be similar to those in the past, aside from measures to accommodate social distancing. The Red Cross would operate the shelters, with most being set up at public schools.
Typically, the shelters allow for 20 square feet per person, but the pandemic will require 60 square feet per person, Webster said.
“That immediately has decreased our capacity by two thirds,” he said.
The busing concept was initially introduced in 2019 in case it was needed, but had not yet been used.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 7:57 PM.
