GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WCSC) -
A hurricane warning was issued for Georgetown County Tuesday night as Hurricane Florence continues to make its way toward the Carolinas.
The hurricane warning was also issued for Horry County.
An update on Tuesday night showed Florence as a Category 4 Hurricane, located about 780 miles southeast of North Carolina. The hurricane’s maximum sustained wind speed is almost 140 mph.
As Georgetown County residents prepare for the possible effects from Florence, many people have chosen to leave town, per the mandatory evacuation order issued by a Gov. Henry McMaster.
“This one is bad," Georgetown resident Tionna Rice said. "This one is serious.”
A lot of people evacuated earlier Tuesday as part of the governor’s mandatory evacuation order.
Now people who are still here are left scrambling to prepare.
“Getting stocked up on water, food supplies, different things like that," Georgetown resident Ernest Greene said.
But a lot of stores are already closed. For those that aren’t, isles that used to be filled with water and food are starting to look barren.
Some businesses in Georgetown are even boarding up their windows. They’re not taking any chances.
“We’re just trying to board up our business and take all of the precautions we can," Georgetown business owner Arman Singh said. "Better safe than sorry.”
Arman Singh and his family are boarding up tonight, but they have plans to evacuate and wait out the storm in Columbia.
“We’re stocked up on water and everything for everyone, gas, we have everything loaded," Singh said. "So we should be safe.”
The quiet community of Georgetown is quieter than usual tonight. It’s the calm before the storm.
And as people get ready to leave, they hold on to hope that the damage from Florence will be minimal.
“I just hope my house will be the way it is when I come back," Rice said.
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