(Editor’s note: This story will be updated as Ian progresses)
Georgia and South Carolina are readying for the impact of Hurricane Ian as it makes its way to Florida and ultimately into the two states.
Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp issued a State of Emergency order Tuesday for all counties in Georgia in preparation.
“As the storm moves through the state beginning on Friday and exiting on Sunday, heavy rainfall and damaging winds will be possible throughout Georgia,” said a news release from Kemp’s office.
The State of Emergency will go into effect at 7 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, and will expire at midnight on Friday, Oct. 28.
“This latest executive action related to Hurricane Ian follows the activation of the State Operations Center on Monday morning, ensuring all relevant state, local, and federal agencies are closely coordinating on storm preparations and response,” the news release said.
In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster held a 4 p.m. Tuesday news conference. He has not issued a state of emergency as of yet; however, he assured those present that the team of emergency management officials had a plan in place, ready for activation.
“We are fully prepared,” he said.
When parts of the plan would be activated would depend on the course of the storm and its impact.
“We don’t know exactly when the storm is going to get here,” he said.
The impending storm has impacted some area events.
The Richmond County School System issued a statement.
“All Richmond County School System schools will be open for regular hours this week. We are actively monitoring the path of Hurricane Ian and will notify our families if local weather projections require any changes to school plans,” it said. “Sustained high winds, significant rainfall, and the potential for tornadoes are projected for our community during the evening on Friday, Sept. 30. Out of an abundance of caution, all Friday football games have been rescheduled. All Junior Varsity football games scheduled this week have been moved to Wednesday, Sept. 28.”
Columbia County football games have also been moved from Friday.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we have postponed or rescheduled all after school athletic events originally planned for Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. Safety of students and staff is a top priority, and we will continue to monitor the weather and work with local authorities to make any adjustments as the need arises. Until further notice, school day operations will continue as normal. If any changes are made to the school day parents will be alerted directly via the school district’s mass communication channels by email, text and phone. Information will also be posted on school websites, social media platforms and shared with local news media outlets,” according to an email from school spokesperson Abbigail Remkus.
A Category 3 hurricane, Ian is moving north at about 10 mph with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph. It is expected to strengthen and possibly become a Category 4 hurricane before slowly weakening, according to the National Weather Service.
Its path, however, is uncertain, according to the National Weather Service.
Heavy rains are expected with possible flash flooding and some tornadoes, the weather service said.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for Camden and Glynn Counties a Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for the remainder of the Georgia coast and in South Carolina from Charleston County south to the Georgia state line.
For additional information in Georgia, visit https://gema.georgia.gov/ and in South Carolina, visit https://www.scemd.org/
