Preparedness is key to safely evacuating the areas in the event of a hurricane.
Know yourself and have your plan ready. Create a hurricane emergency kit with water, medications, flashlight, first aid kit and other necessities. Think about any additional items you may need such as batteries for hearing aids and similar devices, extra oxygen tanks, electrical backups for medical equipment or special food requirements.
Put your most important identification and medical records into digital format for easy safekeeping and quicker movement because paper documents can easily get misplaced or damaged during a significant weather event.
Prepare an emergency plan and make sure every member of your family knows what to do if they aren’t home when an emergency is declared.
Resources to help you create an emergency plan
- The National Weather Service
- 2022 Hurricane Guide
- Ready.gov Emergency Plan
- S.C. Emergency Management Division
Finding shelter and transportation during a hurricane evacuation
Those who require a special medical needs shelter are asked to contact the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control hotline at 855-472-3432 for assistance.
Shelters in Beaufort County are only open during a tropical storm. For more information, read about what you can expect from storm shelters in the Lowcountry here. If a shelter opens for Beaufort County residents and guests during a weather event, the locations will be listed on the S.C. Emergency Management Division website. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office also will keep you updated.
If you require transportation to shelters, register as soon as possible with Palmetto Breeze by clicking here. Call their evacuation hotline at 843-757-5782 to make those arrangements. Or for more information about public transportation, click here.
Beaufort County hurricane evacuation routes
What to know about bridges
In the event of an approaching hurricane, the South Carolina Department of Transportation will shut down the operation of swinging bridges and draw bridges for all boat traffic when:
- Sustained winds reach 25 mph
- A mandatory evacuation is ordered
Resources for hurricane evacuations
Hilton Head Island
- Hilton Head Island evacuees will use both the William Hilton Parkway (U.S. 278 Business) and the Cross Island Parkway (U.S. 278).
- As these two roads merge, a third lane will be formed by reversing flow on the inside eastbound lane of U.S. 278. This lane will carry traffic to the three-lane section beginning on the mainland.
Lane assignments will be:
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- The right lane on US 278 westbound will exit onto SC 170, proceed to SC 462, then be directed to I-95 northbound at I-95 exit 28.
- The center lane on US 278 westbound will become the right lane at SC 170 which will be directed to I-95 northbound at exit 8.
- The left lane on US 278 westbound at SC 170 will continue on
US 278 to Hampton and eventually to North Augusta.
Beaufort
Two-Lane Evacuation:
Evacuees will use the two present northbound lanes on U.S. 21 to U.S. 17. Upon reaching U.S. 17, the right lane will be directed to U.S. 17 north to S.C. 303 to Walterboro. The left lane will be directed to U.S. 17 south, then to U.S. 17 Alt / U.S. 21 to Yemassee and then ultimately to North Augusta.
Three-Lane Evacuation:
Under certain conditions, a third northbound lane will be formed by reversing flow in the inside southbound lane of U.S. 21 at U.S. 21 Business west of Beaufort, accommodating traffic from U.S. 21.
This reversed lane will be directed to U.S. 17 southbound and eventually I-95 northbound at Exit 33 (Point South). The remaining two lanes will be used as described above for the two-lane evacuation.
