City of Charleston Hurricane Matthew update

The City of Charleston Municipal Emergency Operations Center (MEOC) moved to OPCON 1 at 3:00 p.m. in coordination with Governor Nikki Haley’s evacuation order.  This status fully staffs the EOC with members of the City’s Emergency Management Team.  This 24 hour staffing will continue until the threat from Hurricane Matthew has passed.

The City of Charleston Citizen’s Information Line is active: (843) 973-7219.

After distributing 15,500 sandbags—a record number of sandbags for a single event—at four separate locations, the city discontinued sandbag operations. To purchase sandbags, citizens should contact a local home hardware store.

City garbage and trash collections have been suspended. Collections will resume on Monday, October 10.

City of Charleston closed offices at 1 p.m. today. City offices will remain closed on Thursday and Friday. The early release on Wednesday and closureon Thursday and Friday does not apply to public safety employees or other personnel needed to provide essential City services.

City of Charleston Municipal Court hearings scheduled for today, October 5 through Friday, October 7 have been cancelled and will be rescheduled. Notice of the rescheduled hearing times will be sent to the affected parties when the times have been set.

City of Charleston Recreation Department activities scheduled today, October 5 through Sunday, October 9 have been cancelled.

Board, Commission and Committee meetings scheduled for Wednesday, October 5 through Friday, October 7 are postponed. All items that were scheduled for public hearing will appear in updated agendas in their original order. Amended agendas and board dates will be set next week.

The October 5 West Ashley Farmers Market and the October 8 Charleston Farmers Market in Marion Square are both cancelled.

Charleston County Government announced earlier today that the following shelters are now open:

• North Charleston High School, 1087 E Montague Ave, North Charleston, SC 29405
• Stall High School, 3625 Ashley Phosphate Rd, North Charleston, SC 29418
• A.C. Corcoran Elementary, 8585 Vistavia Rd, North Charleston, SC 29406
• Midland Park Primary, 2415 Midland Park Road, North Charleston, SC 29406
• Ladson Elementary, 3321 Ladson Rd, Ladson, SC 29456
• Edmund A. Burns Elementary, 3750 Dorchester Road, North Charleston, SC 29405 (Pet / Pet Owner Shelter)

Coastal Evacuation Routes can be read here: http://bit.ly/2dphirh

CARTA began to assist in transporting citizens from downtown emergency pickup locations (blue hurricane signs) at 3:00 p.m. today until dark. Emergency service will resume at 8 a.m. tomorrow. Those requesting a ride from downtown Charleston are asked to call (843) 724-7420. Transportation will be provided to an available Charleston County hurricane shelter.

Charleston County will provide pickups at all non-downtown locations and those sites can be found in the Charleston County Hurricane Guide: http://bit.ly/22prNZK