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September is Preparedness Month, which is fitting because it is also the time of year when everyone in the Lowcountry starts casually checking the tropics several times a day while pretending they are not checking the tropics several times a day.
If you live in coastal South Carolina, there is one very basic hurricane-preparedness question you should be able to answer:
What evacuation zone do you live in?
If your answer is, “I’m pretty sure it’s…B?”
That is exactly why we are writing this blog.
Knowing your evacuation zone is one of those things that feels completely unimportant right up until the moment it becomes extremely important.
And, like most emergency planning, the best time to figure it out is before there is a cone of uncertainty headed toward Charleston and bottled water has mysteriously disappeared from every grocery store within 20 miles.
First: Know Your Zone
South Carolina’s coastal communities are divided into designated hurricane evacuation zones. Those zones help emergency officials determine which areas need to evacuate when a storm threatens the coast.
And no, your evacuation zone is not based on whether you live “pretty close to the water.”
Your house can look wonderfully high and dry on a beautiful September afternoon and still sit in an evacuation zone because of storm surge, flooding risk, road access or other factors.
So instead of asking your neighbor, checking Facebook or relying on the fact that your cousin has lived here since 1987, use South Carolina’s official Know Your Zone tool.
Enter your address.
Find your zone.
Save it somewhere.
That’s it.
This may be the easiest piece of hurricane preparedness you do all year.
A Quick Note About “Voluntary Evacuations”
This is one we hear often:
“Is it a voluntary evacuation?”
Here is the important distinction: South Carolina no longer uses “voluntary evacuation” as a formal evacuation category.
Local officials may recommend that residents leave an area based on conditions.
But if the Governor issues a state-mandated evacuation order for your zone, it is mandatory.
Not mandatory unless the weather app on your phone looks less scary than it did yesterday.
Not mandatory unless your neighbor says, “I’ve ridden out worse.”
And definitely not mandatory unless someone on Facebook posts that the storm is “100% turning.”
If your zone is included in a state evacuation order, the instruction is to leave.
The Category Is Not the Whole Story
One of the biggest mistakes people make with hurricanes is focusing entirely on the category number.
Category 1? Eh.
Category 2? Maybe pay attention.
Category 3? Now everybody is suddenly buying plywood.
But the hurricane category tells you about wind speed. It does not tell you everything about the threat to your particular home.
Storm surge is one of the biggest reasons evacuation zones exist in the first place.
A storm does not have to be a Category 4 to create dangerous flooding or storm surge.
The path, size, speed and angle of the storm all matter.
So when officials tell residents in a particular zone to evacuate, they are not basing that decision on whether the Weather Channel graphic looks dramatic enough.
They are looking at the actual risk.
Knowing Your Zone Is Only Step One
Once you know your zone, the next question is:
If you have to leave, where are you going?
This is another question that is much easier to answer on a calm Tuesday afternoon than while standing in your driveway trying to fit two dogs, three suitcases, a cooler and your grandmother’s china into the back of an SUV.
Have a basic plan.
Maybe you will stay with family farther inland.
Maybe you have a hotel in mind.
Maybe you will use a public shelter.
Whatever the answer is, have one.
And make sure the plan works for everyone in your household.
That means children.
Pets.
Older family members.
Anyone with mobility challenges.
Anyone who relies on medications or medical equipment.
Because “we’ll figure it out if we need to leave” sounds perfectly reasonable until you actually need to leave.
Know How You’re Getting Out, Too
Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the hurricane evacuation routes in your area.
During an evacuation, traffic patterns may change and certain roads may be designated for evacuation traffic.
This is not necessarily the moment to decide that Waze knows a magical shortcut nobody else in Charleston has discovered.
Follow official evacuation signage and instructions from state and local authorities.
Your favorite back road may be delightful on a normal day.
During a hurricane evacuation, when 400,000 other people have also decided to take a “shortcut,” perhaps less so.
If You’re Going to Leave, Don’t Make It a Competition
There is no trophy for being the last person to evacuate Charleston.
Leaving takes longer than people think.
You have to pack.
You have to get gas.
Someone will forget a charger.
Someone else will suddenly decide they cannot leave without a particular pillow.
If you have children, the number of things considered “absolutely essential” will increase dramatically.
And pets always seem to sense that something unusual is happening and choose that exact moment to disappear under a bed.
So if your zone is ordered to evacuate, give yourself time.
Waiting until the last possible minute generally does not make the experience more enjoyable.
What Should You Take?
Think practical.
Identification.
Medications.
Important documents.
Chargers.
Clothing.
Toiletries.
Pet food and medications.
Necessary medical equipment.
Insurance information.
A few sentimental items that would be difficult or impossible to replace.
This is not the time to evaluate every decorative object you own.
Wedding album? Yes.
Important family photos? Yes.
Grandmother’s jewelry? Absolutely.
Large decorative vase you bought at HomeGoods three years ago?
We wish her well.
Property Owners Need to Know the Zone, Too
If you own rental property in the Charleston area but live somewhere else, you should also know the evacuation zone for your property.
A national weather report may tell you a hurricane is approaching South Carolina.
It probably will not tell you whether your rental property in Mount Pleasant, West Ashley, James Island or Johns Island is in a zone being asked to evacuate.
That local information matters.
It is also one of the reasons having a local property-management team is so valuable during severe weather.
At Sloane Realty, we already have a detailed disaster-response process in place.
Our team knows who is responsible for what.
We have communication procedures.
We have plans for property response and vendor coordination.
And we account for something that is easy to forget: our local team members are living through the storm too.
They may lose power.
They may lose internet.
Roads may become impassable.
Their own families and homes may need attention.
That is why those responsibilities and backup plans are worked out before the weather turns bad.
Because the middle of a hurricane is not an ideal time for a team meeting titled:
“So…what’s everyone doing?”
Preparedness Is Mostly Doing Boring Things Early
Emergency preparedness is not particularly glamorous.
It is knowing your zone.
Knowing where you will go.
Knowing how you will get there.
Having medications filled.
Keeping your vehicle fueled when a storm is approaching.
Making sure the dog has food.
Paying attention to official information.
And making those decisions while you still have plenty of time to make them.
Because when a real evacuation order comes, there will already be enough going on.
Trying to remember whether you live in Zone A, B or C should not be one of those things.
So take two minutes today.
Look up your zone.
Save it.
Tell the rest of your household.
Then you may return to our traditional Charleston hurricane-season pastime:
staring suspiciously at the Atlantic.