Press Release from the City of Charleston
The city of Charleston continues operating at OPCON 2 in tandem with Charleston County. The MEOC remains staffed with Emergency Management, Police, Fire and other essential personnel managing the city's response to the storm.
Current forecast: As of 5 p.m., Idalia has been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to impact the Charleston area overnight.
The primary threat to the Charleston area remains heavy rainfall and major coastal flooding associated with King Tides. Charleston is currently forecast to receive 2 to 4 inches of rain tonight into tomorrow morning. Tonight's King Tide prediction continues to increase, and is now expected to reach at 8.7' at 8:24 p.m.
According to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service Charleston, sustained wind speeds in our area could reach 55 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph. Citizens can monitor weather and tidal conditions via TideEye, the city's web and mobile-friendly GIS tool, linked here: https://gis.charleston-sc.gov/tideeye/.
Tornado activity was reported in the Charleston area earlier today, and the city remains under a Tornado Watch, Hurricane Watch, Flood Watch, Tropical Storm Warning and Storm Surge Warning.
City closures and cancelations: City offices and facilities will be closed Thursday, August 31 as city crews fan out across the city to begin damage assessments and clean-up efforts.
Parking garages: The following city parking garages have spaces available for the public to park their cars for free during the storm:
- Aquarium parking garage (24 Calhoun Street)
- East Bay/Prioleau parking garage (25 Prioleau Street)
- 99 West Edge parking garage (99 West Edge Street)
- Charleston Tech Center parking garage (997 Morrison Drive)
A limited number of spaces have also become available in the Queen Street (93 Queen Street) and Visitor Center (63 Mary Street) garages.
Cars can remain in the garages for free until 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 31.
As a reminder, these garage openings are for cars only, and do not apply to boats, trailers or golf carts.
Charleston County Shelter:
- Address: 3841 Leeds Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29405.
- The shelter will remain open until 10 a.m. Thursday, August 31.
- Residents who need instructions on how to get to the shelter can call 843-746-3900.
- Pets are allowed, but residents must stay with their animals and cannot drop them off.
- Residents need to bring comfort items to the shelter with them.
Flooding and drainage: Temporary pumps are now in place and will work throughout the night.
The Police Department will continue to monitor conditions and close roads if and when they become impassable. Citizens can view active road closures in real time here: https://gis.charleston-sc.gov/road-closures-regional/map/.
Residents are advised to avoid travel until conditions improve and, as always, should never drive through standing water.
Garbage and trash collection: Today's garbage and trash collection was completed at 4 p.m. Due to the high winds forecast for our area, citizens are asked to remove any cans or yard waste from the curb as soon as possible.
Due to the announced closure of the Bees Ferry Landfill, tomorrow's residential and commercial garbage and trash collection will be completed on Friday, September 1. Crews are prepared to complete collection on Saturday, if needed.
Initial recovery efforts: Public Service Department crews have four knuckle boom trucks staffed and ready for deployment at 8 a.m. to begin any necessary debris pick-up. Trash crews will be on-hand to assist, as needed.
Street sweeping crews will be deployed at 7 a.m., if conditions allow, to begin clean-up in areas that experienced flooding.
City personnel will begin conducting windshield surveys of storm-related damage as soon as conditions allow.
To help with the city's assessments once the storm passes, residents are asked to report any storm-related damage online at www.charleston-sc.gov/report-damage or by calling the city's Citizen Services Desk at 843-724-7311.
Citizens should report power outages or downed power lines to Dominion Energy at 888-333-4465.
City residents in Berkeley County can make these reports to Berkeley Electric Cooperative at 888-253-4232.
Additional information: For the most accurate and up-to-date weather forecasts, residents should stay tuned to the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service Charleston websites, as well as local media and the FEMA app.
Additional hurricane preparedness information can be found at www.scemd.org. Citizens can also monitor weather and tidal conditions via TideEye, the city's web and mobile friendly GIS tool, linked here: https://gis.charleston-sc.gov/tideeye/.
The Citizen Services Desk is staffed to answer citizens' questions until 8 p.m. this evening and can be reached at 843-724-7311. As always, in case of emergency, citizens are advised to call 911.
