Staying Safe: Resources for Hurricane Florence
by Sarah Nichols on Sep 14, 2018
As you all know by now, Hurricane Florence is expected to hit South Carolina this weekend. Governor McMaster ordered mandatory evacuations for many coastal counties. Columbia’s counties are not included in mandatory evacuations, although recent forecasts do predict that the Midlands will be in Florence’s path.
Here in South Carolina we are no strangers to storms, but it is important that we take precautions to remain safe. We have compiled a list of resources that may be helpful as you make your preparations.
- The SC Livable Communities Alliance put together a thread of transportation services offered across SC during the hurricane that they are updating in real time.
- BlueCross and BlueChoice HealthPlan have approved a one-time emergency refill on prescription drug medications. Make sure that you have enough of any necessary medications to last you during the storm.
- BCBS is also offering virtual doctors visits, available 24/7, at no cost to residents of zones impacted by the hurricane.
- The Homeless Period Project has received donations from every SC county, and is providing feminine care to those who need it.
- You can report a power outage as well as check the status of an outage through SCEG’s text message reporting service.
- A list of emergency shelters can be found on SCEMD’s website.
- Through SCEMD’s website you can also download a hurricane guide, sign up for red code alerts, and stay up to date with the latest information in a variety of other ways.
We understand that evacuating is, unfortunately, a privilege, but we hope that whatever you are able to do, that you remain safe as Florence passes through.