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We have friends who live between the two 17s (business and bypass) and they rarely evacute during a hurricane threat. They just bring everything outside in and put up plywood over their windows.
It all depends on the storm: if a strong category 2 or worse were taking aim at MB, it is a good idea to evacuate if you live east of the intracoastal waterway or in a flood-prone area because a category 2 can become a 4 in a matter of hours when it crosses the gulf stream - Hugo did just that - it was barelay a category 2 on the morning of the day it hit. By that afternoon, Hugo was a category 4. My rule of thumb is to prepare for a hurricane category 2 levels worse than expected and you'll be fine. All you have to do is remember Hugo, Charley and Katrina to see why any other advice is foolhardy.
Location: Sunny Phoenix Arizona...wishing for a beach.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by waccamatt
It all depends on the storm: if a strong category 2 or worse were taking aim at MB, it is a good idea to evacuate if you live east of the intracoastal waterway or in a flood-prone area because a category 2 can become a 4 in a matter of hours when it crosses the gulf stream - Hugo did just that - it was barelay a category 2 on the morning of the day it hit. By that afternoon, Hugo was a category 4. My rule of thumb is to prepare for a hurricane category 2 levels worse than expected and you'll be fine. All you have to do is remember Hugo, Charley and Katrina to see why any other advice is foolhardy.
I can't even imagine staying through one I afraid of a simple thunderstorm.
You'll have plenty of notice of a potential need to evacuate; in that case you'll be welcome in Columbia. We always fill up whenever there is an evacuation order given. Keep in mind that this is not a frequent occurance. I believe it has been about 8 years since a large-scale evacuation has been ordered because of a hurricane - and that one, Floyd, ended up hitting North Carolina instead.
Hi Sheena,
Im a Charleston native and Ive been here for 40 or so hurricane seasons. The only one that I can remember that ever really did any serious damage to MB was Hugo, and even that was mostly coastal and National Forest damage. You should be fine where you are, but WATCH THE TREES!! Thats what causes the majority of inland storm damage. Im not sure whats allowed in that neighborhood but if it was up to me, I'd cut down the pines and replace them with some nice shade or fruit trees that are more durable, not to mention prettier. We rode out Hugo at my grandmothers house in Moncks Corner and it took my uncle's construction crew two days to cut through the pines to get us out!
As for tornados, they are sometimes spawned from severe thunderstorms or hurricanes but we don't get the mega ones that the midwest have. Its almost always just a touchdown here and there. Ive only seen two up close in my lifetime, one when I was a child growing up in Moncks Corner and one a few years ago that passed about a block from my home in Goose Creek. Both only did minor damage. The last one actually was kinda cool. It sucked all the leaves and hedge clippings out of my yard and saved me a lot of work! lol.
Wesacat, are you serious? Hugo did major, major damage in the Charleston area! It was the most expensive storm to hit the US at that time---did over 6 billion in damage in the Charleston area. There was NO electricity in the metro area for over a week and many did not have their power restored for 6 weeks or so--water and sewer service as well. True, the worst physical damage was in coastal areas (Isle of Palmsand similar areas were virtually leveled) but many homes well inland were also destroyed. Downtown businesses, schools and hospitals were flooded and disabled---some bridges were closed for weeks. I think time makes memories rather hazy.
Wesacat, are you serious? Hugo did major, major damage in the Charleston area! It was the most expensive storm to hit the US at that time---did over 6 billion in damage in the Charleston area. There was NO electricity in the metro area for over a week and many did not have their power restored for 6 weeks or so--water and sewer service as well. True, the worst physical damage was in coastal areas (Isle of Palmsand similar areas were virtually leveled) but many homes well inland were also destroyed. Downtown businesses, schools and hospitals were flooded and disabled---some bridges were closed for weeks. I think time makes memories rather hazy.
I said that Charleston suffered severe damage, what did you want me to say - that the city was destroyed? I think severe is an apt description of Charleston's damage and note my advice about leaving MB if a Category 2 storm is threatening, since it can become a 4 in a matter of hours. We don't need to scare the poor woman half to death since major hurricanes only hit the SC coast once in a lifetime and then only a portion of the coast would be seriously effected. My memories of Hugo are not hazy, I know it wreaked a lot of havoc in Charleston, but it was even worse on the barrier islands and in McClellanville
Edit: I read "Wesacat" as Waccamatt; my apologies. I think Wesacat was just referring to what happened in MB during Hugo, not what happened in Charleston. MB bearing the brunt of a Cat 4 hitting at high tide would ne be a pretty site since it has no protection from the ocean. I'll reiterate - do not buy a house east of the intracoastal waterway or in a low-lying area if you are worried about losing everything in a hurricane.
My wife and I will be building a home just west of the ICW(about a mile). Is the reason not to buy east of it due to the way the ICW's waters would rise and flood due to a hurricane? I am referring to those people whom are worried of storm damage during a hurricane. I am concerned with flooding, but not worried. We will be close to the ICW though, in the East Forestbrook division on Forestbrook road about a mile south of 501.
Moedog,
I said that Hugo caused serious damage to MB. That is the city to which sheena was refering, not Charleston. True, memories do get a bit hazy over time, but Hugo isn't something I think I'll ever forget!
Location: Sunny Phoenix Arizona...wishing for a beach.
4,300 posts, read 14,951,960 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wesacat
Hi Sheena,
Im a Charleston native and Ive been here for 40 or so hurricane seasons. The only one that I can remember that ever really did any serious damage to MB was Hugo, and even that was mostly coastal and National Forest damage. You should be fine where you are, but WATCH THE TREES!! Thats what causes the majority of inland storm damage. Im not sure whats allowed in that neighborhood but if it was up to me, I'd cut down the pines and replace them with some nice shade or fruit trees that are more durable, not to mention prettier. We rode out Hugo at my grandmothers house in Moncks Corner and it took my uncle's construction crew two days to cut through the pines to get us out!
As for tornados, they are sometimes spawned from severe thunderstorms or hurricanes but we don't get the mega ones that the midwest have. Its almost always just a touchdown here and there. Ive only seen two up close in my lifetime, one when I was a child growing up in Moncks Corner and one a few years ago that passed about a block from my home in Goose Creek. Both only did minor damage. The last one actually was kinda cool. It sucked all the leaves and hedge clippings out of my yard and saved me a lot of work! lol.
Thank you so much for the info. We are here this weekend and are having a blast, enjoying the beaches and Broadway on the Beach. We are headed back to Charlotte for a week and a half and then I will be a permanent Myrtle Beach citizen!! I haven't been this excited in years. I love the ocean!!
My wife and I will be building a home just west of the ICW(about a mile). Is the reason not to buy east of it due to the way the ICW's waters would rise and flood due to a hurricane? I am referring to those people whom are worried of storm damage during a hurricane. I am concerned with flooding, but not worried. We will be close to the ICW though, in the East Forestbrook division on Forestbrook road about a mile south of 501.
The reason I use the ICW as a line of demarcation is that if a category 4 or 5 hurricane scored a direct hit on MB at high tide, most of the land east of and along the ICW would be under at least a little bit of water. Pay attention to the elevation of the land where you want to buy. If it is above 30 feet in elevation you would be safe from all but a once a millenium storm. As I stated earlier, you also want to make sure you are away from creeks of rivers that could easily flood during a hurricane so that you would only have to worry about wind during a hurricane. Making sure there were no large trees within striking distance of the house would not be a bad idea either. All of that said, MB has not been directly hit by a severe hurricane since record-keeping began about 150 years ago. The worst area of Hugo hit about 40-60 miles SW of MB so you can imagine the type of damage a similar storm would cause if it hit MB directly.
If you look at page 4 of the link below you will see that the 10 meter elevation point is just west of the ICW in the MB area.
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Homes east of ICW
