South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is issuing no evacuations and isn’t closing state offices with storm Idalia forecast to move along the state’s coast overnight. “This is not as bad as some we’ve seen,” McMaster, who has ordered at least three coastal evacuations since taking office in 2017, said Wednesday. But, he said, the state is ready to respond if the storm is worse than anticipated — and he encouraged people to stay home.
Flooding could be the state’s biggest threat. Wednesday evening’s high tide in Charleston Harbor is forecast to be nearly 9 feet (2.7 meters) above normal sea level or about 3 feet (just under 1 meter) above normal high tide.
The city opened parking garages so people could park well above ground and gathered barricades to close off streets in the low- lying city, which frequently floods whenever tides are above normal. Hilton Head Island emergency manager Tom Dunn said as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain combined with a potential storm surge of 4 feet (1.2 meters) could put parts of the island underwater, as when Hurricane Irma passed by after striking Florida in 2017.
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