McMaster praises teamwork as officials discuss Hurricane Dorian response

Gov. Henry McMaster had a message for folks in Horry County: teamwork got the State of South Carolina through Hurricane Dorian.

The governor visited Horry County’s Emergency Operations Center on Friday a day after Hurricane Dorian grazed the coastline bringing tornadoes, wind damage and flooding.

“The hurricane is gone. That’s good news,” McMaster said. ”The really good news is the amount of collaboration, cooperation, coordination that took place here.”

Elected leaders from the local, state and federal levels gathered to hear the governor speak and address the public. During the storm, local leaders were communicating with all levels of government about what was happening on the ground and what help was needed.

Ahead of the storm on Monday, McMaster order the evacuation of emergency Zone A. While the storm was not as bad as it could have been, the governor stood by his decision to evacuate so early.

The evacuations across the state ensured people were out of harm’s way if this storm had made landfall in South Carolina, he said.

In terms of the storm itself, US Congressional Rep. Tom Rice, R-7, said the damage could have been much worse, but the Grand Strand was open to visitors. As he spoke, public works crews were across the county clearing roads, repairing power lines and getting the area back to normal.

McMaster said South Carolinians know they’re in “hurricane alley” and know that they’re still in the best state.

“We’ve been through hurricanes before and we will go through some more,” the governor said. “Very few people are leaving to go to Michigan or Kansas because of the hurricanes.”

While Dorian is over for South Carolina, hurricane season continues. Horry County Emergency Management Director Randy Webster reminded folks that we’re still early into the season and people need to remain prepared for the future.

“We’re still under a threat for the rest of the year. Please take this time to continue preparations,” Webster said. “And please understand it is very, very, very important that when the governor issues those evacuation orders, it is a very serious matter. There are a lot of times the storm is even worse than expected.”

As compared to Hurricane Florence last year, flooding was not as big of a concern following Hurricane Dorian. Still, McMaster talked about the work his flood commission is doing to prepare for a future flood.

The commission is looking at flooding from a wide array of angles to find ways South Carolina and Horry County can improve before another flood comes.

Conway Mayor and Commission Member Barbara Blain-Bellamy asked folks to come out to an Horry County Cleanup as a part of the Governor’s Floodwater Commission on Nov. 8. She said this event will help clean up the waterways in Horry County in order to help water flow more smoothly in the event of a flood.

This story was originally published September 6, 2019 at 5:03 PM with the headline "McMaster praises teamwork as officials discuss Hurricane Dorian response."