HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) - The Latest on preparations in South Carolina for Hurricane Irma (all times local):
7 p.m.
Authorities are issuing a curfew for people remaining on five barrier islands in South Carolina under orders to leave.
Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner says a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew starts Saturday night and will extend until Tuesday for the barrier islands in his county covered by Gov. Henry McMaster’s evacuation order issued Friday night. Those are Hilton Head, Daufuskie, Fripp, Hunting and Harbor islands.
Sheriff’s Lt. Neil Baxley says water service on Fripp, Harbor and Hunting islands will end at 4 p.m. Sunday. Fripp will also have no sewer service.
As of 6:30 p.m. Saturday, 100 people remained on Fripp and 12 people on Harbor. About 300 of Daufuskie’s 470 residents remained. Ferry service to that island, accessible only by boat, will end at noon Sunday.
Only park rangers remained on Hunting Island. Baxley says Hunting Island State Park is already partially under water. Its parking lots and campground were completely flooded at high tide Saturday afternoon. Tanner notes Hurricane Irma is expected to bring a storm surge of up to 6 feet of water in South Carolina’s southernmost coastal counties.
Tanner is urging people in low-lying areas to go to shelters even if they’re not under evacuation orders. He says, “If you put 4 to 6 feet on top of what we saw today, we’re going to have some problems.”
McMaster’s order to start leaving Saturday morning also applied to Edisto Beach in Colleton County and Tullifini and Knowles islands in Jasper County. About 44,500 people live in the evacuated areas.
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3 p.m.
Gov. Henry McMaster says people on eight barrier islands are complying with his evacuation order.
The governor says officers will “make a sweep” at 5 p.m. Saturday to “look for stragglers or those that need help.” His order Friday night required residents and vacation-goers to start leaving Saturday morning.
He says about 44,500 people live full-time in the evacuated areas of three counties along South Carolina’s southern coastline. He’s unsure how many people were on the islands when he issued the order. The number of full-time residents ranges from 32 on Tullifini Island in Jasper County to 42,000 on Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County.
As of Saturday afternoon, fewer than 50 people were in three shelters open for evacuees. More shelters are scheduled to open Sunday if necessary.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control is allowing two hospitals previously ordered to move their patients inland to remain open. But the hospital on Hilton Head Island will close at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Department of Transportation Secretary Christy Hall says evacuees from other states have put 124,000 more vehicles than normal on interstates 95 and 20 in South Carolina.
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1:50 p.m.
People on a South Carolina barrier island under mandatory evacuation have one more day to take the ferry out before Hurricane Irma potentially floods it.
Daufuskie Island is accessible only by boat. It is among eight barrier islands along South Carolina’s southern coastline covered by Gov. Henry McMaster’s evacuation order Friday night, which required people to start leaving Saturday morning.
The order will suspend regular ferry service between Hilton Head Island and Daufuskie. Beaufort County officials announced Saturday the ferry’s last run to Hilton Head Island will be at noon Sunday. Service will resume after the order is lifted.
Hilton Head Island is by far the most populous island covered by the order, with more than 40,000 residents. Remote Daufuskie has several hundred full-time residents.
The Edisto Beach portion of Edisto Island is also being evacuated, as well as Harbor, Hunting, Fripp, Tullifini and Knowles islands.
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11:50 a.m.
People are leaving South Carolina’s barrier islands under a mandatory evacuation order as Hurricane Irma approaches Florida.
Highway Patrol Sgt. Bob Beres said Saturday morning “traffic is flowing” as residents evacuate.
Gov. Henry McMaster’s order Friday night required people on eight barrier islands along South Carolina’s southern coastline to leave beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Republican governor says expected storm surges of up to 6 feet would bring “serious flooding” to those low-lying areas.
The most populous island being evacuated is Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County. Police barricades and cones are blocking entrance onto the island that’s home to more than 40,000 people.
The Edisto Beach portion of Edisto Island is also being evacuated, as well as Harbor, Hunting, Fripp, Daufuskie, Tullifini and Knowles islands.
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