Weather News

S.C. governor calls for evacuations for one Horry County zone as Hurricane Dorian nears

By Elizabeth Townsend

On Sunday evening, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster ordered evacuations for parts of some state counties, including Zone A of Horry and Georgetown, to begin at noon Monday as Hurricane Dorian approaches the East Coast.

Zone A includes all areas east of U.S. Business 17 up to the intersection with U.S. 17 and all areas east of U.S. 17 to the northern county line.

Earlier Sunday, Horry County ordered a state of emergency as our coastline is within the cone forecast for Dorian, currently a Category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. It is believed Dorian will either come ashore or ride near the coast sometime Wednesday and Thursday.

Other counties with areas ordered to evacuate included Jasper, Beaufort, Colleton, Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley.

McMaster also announced all Horry and Georgetown county schools would be closed Tuesday and until further notice.

Horry County zones



If the governor calls for mandatory evacuations, he will likely do so by picking zones to evacuate.

Here are the zone locations in Horry County:

Zone A (red):

  • All areas east of U.S. Business 17 up to the intersection with U.S. 17

  • All areas east of U.S. 17 to the norther county line

Zone B (yellow):

  • Areas South of Highway 707 and Longwood Drive

  • All areas in Longwood Plantation to the Waccamaw River

  • All areas east of US 17 to the northern county line

  • All areas east of US 17 Bypass to US 17

Zone C (orange):

  • Areas between Hwy 701 and Hwy 544

  • South of Brown’s Chapel Avenue and Hwy 814

  • All areas east of Highway 90 to US 7 to the northern county line

  • All areas east of Highway 31 (Carolina Bays Parkway) to Hwy 90

Evacuation routes

Officials recommend bringing a road map with you as you evacuate. The following are the current evacuation routes listed on Horry County Government’s :

  • North Myrtle Beach and northward: Evacuees north of Briarcliffe Acres will take S.C. 9 north to I-95 and beyond.

  • Myrtle Beach from 10th Avenue North south to the Myrtle Beach International Airport: Evacuees from the Myrtle Beach area south of 10th Avenue North and north of the Myrtle Beach International Airport will take U.S. 501 to Conway. Then, take U.S. 378 to Columbia or continue on U.S. 501 to Marion. In Marion, take U.S. 76 to Florence to access I-95 southbound or stay on U.S. 501 to S.C. 38 to access I-95 northbound.
  • Garden City Beach south to Winyah Bay: Evacuees from Garden City Beach south to Winyah Bay will take U.S. 17 south through Georgetown. Then, take U.S. 521 to S.C. 261 to U.S. 378 to Columbia. Alternatively, take U.S. 17 south to U.S. 701 in Georgetown to S.C. 51 to U.S. 378 at Kingsburg.



    • This story was originally published September 1, 2019 at 7:34 PM.

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