The Lowcountry, along with much of the Atlantic Coast, is prepping for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian – an unwelcome visitor, indeed. It is a very powerful one, one of the worst Atlantic ones on record. Hurricane Dorian has absolutely pounded the Abacos and other parts of the Bahamas. It hit as a Cat 5 and stayed almost stationary for what must have felt like an eternity. Hurricane Dorian has finally begun its trek northward, and we all wait to see what happens, and track the latest spaghetti models.
A Mandatory Evacuation is in place
As of Monday (yesterday) at noon, SC Governor McMaster ordered a mandatory evacuation of the coastal counties in South Carolina. Basically this covers the entire coast, and involves 830,000 residents as well as anyone visiting the area. Everyone is urged to get away from the coast and move inland to higher ground until the threat of Hurricane Dorian passes. These counties include Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton, Georgetown, Horry, Berkeley, Dorchester, and yes - Charleston. In concurrence with the orders to evacuate, and to aid in the flow of traffic away from the coast, the Governor ordered lane reversals on Interstate 26. As of about 11:00 a.m. Monday, all lanes of I-26 between I-526 in North Charleston and I-77 in Columbia are heading north/west. This will continue until further notice. With the evacuation also comes several closings. The Governor ordered schools in the affected counties closed as of today (Tuesday). They were already closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday. Same goes for government offices. The list goes on from there. Basically, all area colleges are closed as of today, as well as the City Market, Aquarium, carriage tours, Middleton Place, Drayton Hall, the Gibbes Museum, Patriot’s Point, Cypress Gardens and many more. Read the list here.
Hurricane Dorian and the IOP
Because of the governmental closings (namely the county landfill), the IOP has suspended trash pickup until further notice. The Isle of Palms Post Office is closed, door locked, with outside mail drop taped shut. However, many businesses remain open. The IOP’s Harris-Teeter is open and will stay that way until no longer possible. Same with Costco in Mount Pleasant, which even opened early this morning with a new stock of generators. Several Isle of Palms restaurants are open for business, including the Refuge, ACME, Papi’s and the Windjammer.
How to stay updated
The City of Isle of Palms is posting frequent updates on a special Hurricane Dorian page on the official website, as well as their Facebook page. The IOP Police Department is also posting on their Facebook page, with helpful information. One question that the IOP Police addressed was the closing of the IOP Connector. Basically, it will remain open until winds are deemed too dangerous. According to protocol, officials will then issue red warnings for area bridges when winds are 40 mph sustained or higher. We here on the Isle of Palms have been under a hurricane watch. It has now turned into a hurricane warning. That means hurricane force winds are expected within 36 hours. Hurricane Dorian is heading up the coast. We are praying, and hope you will too, that she will stay out in the ocean and away from the Lowcountry. Exclusive Properties has a beach cam, where you can watch live video of the beach and ocean at the Isle of Palms. Click here to see the current conditions. Please stay safe. Hopefully Dorian will stay away from the Lowcountry, so we at EP can welcome back nice visitors like you to our Isle of Palms vacation rentals very soon. All best, Lowcountry Lisa your Isle of Palms vacation blogger
Photo credit: IOP Police Department Facebook page