As South Carolina braces for Hurricane Ian, which is expected to make landfall today as a Category 1 storm, here’s what Joe Coates, director of emergency management division in Charleston County, South Carolina, hopes residents would do.
- Stay off the road
- Stay home
- Do not drive around floodwaters
- Do not remove barriers
“Eventually, the storm winds are going to get up so high where our first responders are going to be recalled back to the stations. And we really don’t need to try to have to rescue people that are out and about when these high winds come,” he told CNN Friday.
One key factor for Coates has been the settlement of new residents in the area who may not be experienced in hurricane preparation.
“So we’ve done our best to try to educate everyone and make sure that they know what the effects are from these storms. And we’ve just tried to make sure that people heed the advice of first responders and our public officials to stay home and stay off the roads,” he said.
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