“Governor Nikki Haley has proclaimed May 31st – June 6th to be 2015 South Carolina Hurricane Awareness Week. The S.C. Emergency Management Division, agencies of the State Emergency Response Team and county emergency managers will be engaged in many activities throughout the week to highlight disaster preparedness in South Carolina.”
– SCEMD
Although many people living in the Upstate don’t necessarily think that the region is prone to catastrophic events, history begs to differ. Too many have experienced damage and life disruption due to past hurricanes. Hurricane Opal came up through the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall on October 4th, 1995 – Many campers, vehicles, structures, and boats were damaged in the greater Greenville, SC area. Hurricane Floyd, which brushed past in 1999 caused the Upstate to suffer through very heavy flooding. Evacuations were recommended, but some people sat in traffic for over 20 hours while lanes were not reversed. Hurricane Hugo made landfall north of Charleston just before midnight on Sept. 21, 1989, with maximum sustained winds of 138 mph. The eye of this Category 4 hurricane was 35 miles wide, with storm surges of 15 to 20 feet above normal. It punched through all of South Carolina and still packed hurricane winds as it passed through Charlotte, North Carolina, and into Virginia. Hugo remained a hurricane during its entire trip across the state of South Carolina. Areas far from the coast like Kingstree, Sumter, Camden and Lancaster reported widespread devastation as they all saw hurricane force winds. Winds with speeds of up to 85 mph were recorded in Charlotte, NC. By the time the storm exited the state, schools were canceled and businesses were closed as far north as Greenville and Rock Hill due to fallen trees, scattered debris and downed power lines. It took days for state and federal emergency help to reach inland areas.
Hurricane Hugo can remind South Carolina residents of the devastation brought by their worst storm in the past century — and to be ready for when the next one comes. At the time of Hugo 3.4 million people lived in the state. Today, South Carolina has 4.6 million people. Now is a great time to make sure you have the needed tools to survive a crisis or major disaster. According to a recent survey, only 57 percent of Americans have supplies set aside in their homes just for disasters, and only 44 percent have a household emergency plan.
Hurricane Awareness Week serves to encourage individuals across the state to take important preparedness steps, including getting an emergency back-up power supply, making a family emergency plan, and taking the necessary steps to get trained and become engaged in community preparedness and response efforts. Carolina Heating Service & Carolina Generators Inc want to ensure that you never loose power when you need it most! Get prepared for what mother nature may bring by calling Carolina Generators for a FREE in home consultation to install a New Generac Standby Automatic Generator for all of your power needs. Don’t get caught in the dark! Call (864)232-5684 
