McMaster declares state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Ian

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WMBF) – South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has declared a state of emergency before Hurricane Ian impacts South Carolina.

This activates the state’s emergency operations plan, which allows state agencies to prepare for the storm. He added that the South Carolina National Guard has been activated as well.

“It’s still too early to know exactly how Hurricane Ian will affect South Carolina, but preparations at the state level are well underway, and this declaration of emergency is another step in that process,” said McMaster. “We do know we’ll see a lot of rain and significant storm surge on our coastline over the coming days – now is the time for each South Carolinian to make plans for every contingency and be prepared.”

McMaster made it clear that he is not ordering any evacuations or state government closures. He said at this point, based on the information provided by emergency management officials, evacuations are not necessary.

HURRICANE IAN | Latest updates on Hurricane Ian’s track and impacts

Hurricane Ian remains a powerful hurricane and has already produced the third-highest storm surge on record in Key West, Florida. It made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near Cayo Costa, Florida with maximum sustained winds at 150 mph.

A tropical storm warning is now in effect for the Grand Strand.

Horry County has also declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Ian hitting the Carolinas.

RELATED COVERAGE | Horry County declares state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Ian

The localized state of emergency adopts emergency ordinances to meet public emergencies affecting life, health, safety or the property of the people in our area.

In conjunction, the Horry County Emergency Management Department will move to OPCON 2 (Level 2 Operation Condition) at 9 a.m. Thursday, which means the county will be operating in a heightened state of awareness with emergency plans beginning to be implemented.