Horry County declares state of emergency as Hurricane Dorian continues toward East Coast

Horry County Council declared a state of emergency at 5 p.m. Sunday as Hurricane Dorian continues to near the East Coast, according to a news release.

The action means the county will “adopt emergency ordinances to meet public emergencies affecting life, health, safety or the property of the people in our area. The declaration will remain in effect for sixty (60) days unless sooner terminated by resolution by County Council.”

Earlier Sunday as uncertainty continued to mount as to what impact Hurricane Dorian will have on the Grand Strand, Horry County moved its emergency operations into what’s known as OPCON 2, meaning the departments are in a “heightened state of awareness.”

Hurricane Dorian was declared a Category 5 hurricane Sunday morning, with record winds that reached as high as 185 mph. As of the 5 p.m. briefing, Dorian was still expected to skim Florida — whose east coast was put under hurricane warnings — hugging the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina and possibly never making landfall.

This story was originally published September 1, 2019 at 5:28 PM.