The city of Charleston continues to operate at OPCON 1 as officials monitor Hurricane Dorian’s path and make pre-storm preparations.
Beginning at 8 a.m. tomorrow, the city of Charleston will have a limited supply of free sand and bags available for residents to build their own sandbags. Residents should bring their own shovels for assembly. Staff will be on-site to provide assistance, as needed.
The self-serve pick-up locations are:
- 14 Sumar Street (Old Piggly Wiggly site)
- West Ashley Park, 3601 Mary Ader Avenue
- James Island Town Hall, 1122 Dills Bluff Road
- Grace Bridge Street Parking Lot, 5 Grace Bridge Street
- Volvo Car Stadium, 161 Seven Farms Drive
A limit of 10 sandbags per car will apply to all residents visiting these locations. To purchase additional sandbags, citizens should contact a local home hardware store.
Charleston City Council held a telephonic meeting at 3 p.m. today to discuss updates related to Hurricane Dorian and its potential impacts to the Charleston area.
Throughout the day, the city’s Stormwater Department continued to perform pre-storm preventative maintenance on storm drains and ditches. Temporary pumps have been secured and will be staged in low-lying areas prone to flooding.
At 7:30 a.m. this morning, Parks Department staff began securing city buildings and will continue this process throughout the day tomorrow. Crews continue to lower water levels in Colonial Lake and Lake Dotterer as the tide cycles allow.
In order to minimize damage, contractors will work over the next few days to remove walkways to floating docks at Waterfront and Demetre Parks. All city Capital Projects contractors have been notified to secure their project sites prior to the storm.
Tomorrow morning, crews will begin securing any loose items in city parks and removing trash can liners and loose lids.
A decision on whether and when to open city parking garages to citizens will be made as more information on the storm’s track and potential impacts becomes available, as will a decision regarding any garbage and trash collection schedule modifications.
The city of Charleston Citizen Services Desk is staffed to answer citizens’ questions about storm preparations and can be reached at 843-724-7311. Residents are also encouraged to review the city’s Hurricane Information webpage, which can be accessed at http://www.charleston-sc.gov/hurricane-information.
City officials will remain in close communication with Charleston County and other local agencies throughout the weekend, and will continue to receive regular updates from the National Weather Service regarding the storm’s track and potential local impacts.
For the most accurate and up-to-date weather forecasts, residents should stay tuned to the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service Charleston websites, as well as local media. Additional hurricane preparedness information can be found at www.scemd.org.