Evacuation Comparison: Haley vs Hodges

Many West Of readers clearly remember what a fiasco the 1999 Hurricane Floyd evacuation was. Gov. Jim Hodges was slow to call for evacuation along the coast and then failed to reverse the eastbound lanes on I-26. With tens of thousands of cars moving westbound on I-26 at the same time, the highway turned into a parking lot. It took some families more than 10 hours to travel from Charleston to Columbia.
The image of Gov. Hodges flying in a helicopter surveying the bumper-to-bumper traffic and not being able to fix the problem was etched in the minds of lowcountry voters.The botched evacuation and an economic downturn were both factors in Mark Sanford’s victory over Hodges in 2002.
After the Hurricane Floyd fiasco, the South Carolina Highway Patrol started doing annual lane reversal drills near the June 1 official start of hurricane season. Sanford never needed to reverse the lanes during his two terms as Governor. On Wed., Oct. 5, Gov. Nikki Haley ordered evacuation from Hurricane Matthew and had the eastbound lanes of I-26 reversed.
The results of the lane reversal were better than expected. The eastbound lanes were reversed from the I-526 junction in North Charleston to the I-77 junction near Columbia, about 100 miles of highway. The state Highway Patrol reported that drivers were moving at the speed limit throughout that stretch. An estimated 310,000 coastal residents evacuated as of Fri., Oct. 7.
Gov. Haley did receive criticism for calling for evacuation too early. Many coastal residents were required to report to work on Oct. 5th and 6th. Another factor is the cost of hotel rooms for at least three days before it would be safe to return. The availability of hotel rooms west of Columbia was also an issue. Gov. Haley even suggested that evacuees look into renting rooms on the Airbnb website
Government communications were very effective at the state and local levels. Gov. Haley held several press conferences each day leading up to the storm, as did the tri-county Emergency Operations Center. It is clear that the Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester County officials and the state Highway Patrol are working closely together in the evacuation and safety process and urged people to evacuate.
My wife and I chose to ride out the storm. We had an invitation to stay with a friend in Greenwood, who hosted us during the 1999 Floyd evacuation. We avoided the heavy traffic in 1999 by taking Highway 61 west. We now have three cats which are traumatized by a 30-minute round-trip drive to the veterinarian. We also have rental properties now and want to be able to respond instantly to the needs of our tenants.
When this publication is on the shelves, we will all know the casualties associated with Hurricane Matthew. The pre-storm predictions call for tropical storm force winds for more than 18 hours, more than eight inches of rain, and more than five feet of storm surge, which will impact West Ashley residents living along the Ashley and Stono rivers.
There is no doubt that this storm event will impact our dysfunctional drainage system and cause massive flooding and property damage. It is up to each of us to hold our elected officials and local governments accountable for maintaining the drainage infrastructure and devising engineering upgrades for the Church Creek and Stono drainage basins.
There are some post-storm contact numbers which will be useful to West Of readers. The Charleston County citizen information hotline number is 843-746-3900. SCE&G may be reached at 888-333-4465 or by text message to 467-234 key word GOSREG.
There are many disaster restoration services which deal with the aftermath of flooding events, including West Ashley-based Disaster Plus. We will also have lots of debris to clear in our streets and neighborhoods. Get out after the storm and assist your neighbors.
I have great appreciation for our local governments in their pre-storm response, including the extensive trash and yard waste pickups and the heroic efforts of our law enforcement agencies. I also appreciate the gas stations and grocery stores which stayed open until the day of the storm.
John Steinberger is the former chairman of the Charleston County Republican Party, a leading Fair Tax advocate, and a West Ashley resident. He can be reached at John.steinberger@scfairtax.org.