With Hurricane Dorian spinning off the East Coast and forecasted to head toward the Carolinas, Gov. Henry McMaster ordered evacuation procedures to begin on Monday.
Starting at noon, all lanes of I-26 will be reversed to help move people away from the Charleston area and away from potential impacts from the storm.
The lane reversals start at I-526 and will run the entire distance of I-26 to the intersection with I-77 in Columbia.
With lane evacuations, access is limited to get on and off I-26. For a full list of exits that will be closed, the S.C. Emergency Management Division has set up a map online.
Emergency evacuation shelters will be listed on SCEMD’s website as well.
McMaster’s evacuation plans also ordered the closure of schools and government offices in eight coastal counties, including Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester, beginning on Tuesday.
Hurricane Dorian is churning off South Florida with maximum sustained winds of 165 miles per hour as of 8 a.m. Monday. Extended forecasts from the National Hurricane Center lay out a possible course along the S.C. coast, with possible tropical storm force winds arriving in the Charleston area overnight on Tuesday. Local Charleston and state officials are monitoring conditions and mobilizing emergency across the area.
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