Hurricane Dorian- Message #12

Fri, 09/06/2019

Good afternoon Island residents,

Broadcasting the latest information from the post-Hurricane Dorian storm event as of 2pm Friday 9-6-19.

Town Condition Status

On whole the Island did quite well considering sustained tropical storm wind with hurricane force gusts, over 7 inches of rain and high tides
Much of the clean-up effort will be related to limbs and leaves; at this point the Maintenance Department has cleared trees and limbs from the roads and addressed any safety issues.
Some low lying streets continue to hold rainwater but that is expected to drain or evaporate by this weekend
While a portion of the Island did lose power yesterday afternoon, Dominion Energy is working diligently to restore service; if you are still without power do not assume Dominion knows of the issue. It is prudent to report the outage to the utility at 1-888-333-4465. Dominion officials have reported to me that over 275,000 customers are without service and the utility is working diligently to restore power to all
Much of the Island is without service from Comcast; crews are present taking the necessary steps to restore service
Assessments reveal no damage to Town buildings, property or infrastructure with minimal damage to private property
The dune system is 98% in tact with erosion at the eastern and western ends of the Island. There was some loss of sand volume along the central reach of the Island. DHEC has issued emergency nourishment procedures. Contact Randy Robinson in Town Hall if you need assistance

Town Operational Status

Governor McMaster has rescinded his earlier evacuation order
At the US Post Office the window has not re-opened but there is access to the boxes
Town status:
- Town is at OPCON 2 condition; the Town Hall opened for business at 12 Noon
- Municipal Emergency Operations Center will stand down today at 5pm
- All staff will return to normal hours and shifts at 5pm today
- Water and sewer utilities are operating as normal without interruption or problem
- Roads are safe and passable
- Maintenance Department will continue clearing the roads and storm drain inlets
- Playgrounds, tennis court and basketball court are open and available for use
- Ocean conditions are safe
- Most restaurants have resumed regular service hours

Important News About Household Garbage and Yard Debris

The Town has scheduled a household garbage pick-up for Saturday 9-7-19 beginning at 6:30 AM. Be sure to have your cart street-side by that hour. The next household collection will be Wednesday 9-11-19

Charleston County has activated its debris clean-up contract. At this time it cannot be determined when the contractor will be working on Sullivan’s Island to remove the hurricane debris. If you place the debris in the right-of-way for removal know that it may be there for a while. The debris should be separated by category: organic materials (limbs, leaves in bags); construction material; hazardous material; electronics; and, white goods. Do not block a fire hydrant, man-hole cover or water meter with any street-side waste.

As an alternative, you can have your yard maintenance contractor remove the material in the normal course of the yard work

Closing Comments

Special thanks and recognition to all of the Town staff at Police, Fire, Water and Sewer and Town Hall that worked tirelessly and around the clock for the past 9 days to prepare for, protect and keep the Island safe during Hurricane Dorian
Appreciation and thanks to the federal, state, county and other municipal agencies that participated daily in conference calls and operational meetings to make ready the tri-county area for disaster and recovery
The peak of hurricane season is not until mid/late-September so do not take your eyes off of the Weather Channel just yet – see NHC activity map for today attached

Regards,

Andy Benke
Town Administrator
Town of Sullivan's Island

South Carolina Town of Sullivan’s Island