The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association has described the 2024 hurricane season as “above normal". Tropical storm Debby made landfall in South Carolina in early August bringing heavy rainfall, sparking concerns that another storm may come in the months ahead.
Because of this, some local experts have suggested students should continue to stay prepared by stocking up on provisions and reading local evacuation plans.
Hurricane seasons run from June 1 through Nov. 30, with a peak around Sept. 10. Storms are named once they reach tropical storm status and become hurricanes when sustained winds are above 74 mph. Five named storms have spawned in the Atlantic so far, one reaching category five strength.
USC's response to hurricanes are typically class cancellations and campus closures. It last took these measures during Hurricane Ian in September 2022.
Susan Cutter, a professor of geography and director of the Hazards Vulnerability & Resilience Institute, said she believes that South Carolina’s Emergency Management Division is prepared for hurricanes.
“The state has a really, really good emergency management division," Cutter said. "The way that these things operate is: everything is local. So the state intervenes when the event is large enough that the local community needs help. And if the state, if it's a large enough event, like a Hurricane Hugo, for example, then the state requires federal assistance, and then the federal government comes and helps as well.”
Students can take action for their safety before, during and after hurricanes. Cutter recommends that students stay home, protect electronic devices, secure vulnerable objects from wind, have at least three days worth of provisions and take steps to prepare for flooding . She emphasized that students should pay attention to the situation through official sources of emergency information only.
“What you need to do is rely on government organizations and state organizations, the National Weather Service, South Carolina Emergency Management, the university's sources. Try to get out of the social media chat room kind of sphere because that's not credible information," Cutter said.
She further explained that students can purchase solar batteries for charging phones, laptops and other small electronic devices to maintain a means of communication in case of a power outage.
Portable gas generators are often used during power outages as well. However, Director of USC’s Palmetto Poison Control, Jill Michels, warns that students should use caution when operating these generators.
“So generators are run on gas, and anytime you burn fuel, carbon monoxide is produced," Michels said. "And carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, so you don't know it's in your environment. And so people can become overcome with carbon monoxide from it within the exhaust fumes.”
Michels recommends that students prepare for long periods without power and that they have at least seven days worth of any medications they regularly take.
Students can also prepare by familiarizing themselves with local evacuation plans. Although Columbia is unlikely to face an evacuation order itself, evacuations in areas of the state near the coast may cause disruptions in Columbia. Cutter explained what would happen in the event of an evacuation order.
"There would not be an evacuation order for Columbia, but Columbia would be a host community for evacuations from the coast. And what would happen is the governor would order an evacuation, and I-26 would reverse flow, so you'd have four lanes coming out of Charleston. And the only way you could get off is in Columbia," Cutter said.
Cary Mock, a professor of climatology and hurricane researcher in USC’s geography department, said the high number of storms predicted for the 2024 hurricane season may be a result of climate change. He said the increased sea surface temperatures could be tied back to global warming.
"Like last year, there were pretty high temperatures, for example, and we had quite a lot of storms,” Mock said.
He explained that although the 2024 season is predicted to have a high number of storms, it may only be the strength of storms that will continue to increase in future seasons, not the quantity of them.
“In terms of overall numbers in the future, in climate change, we actually generally don't think the numbers will change too much compared to today, but maybe we'll get more category fives,” Mock said.
Mock said he is uncertain about the possibility of a major hurricane impacting South Carolina.
The last major hurricane to make direct landfall in South Carolina was Hurricane Hugo, a category four, in 1989. The storm was one of the worst natural disasters in state history, inflicting around $17.2 billion dollars in damage.
USC and its state and federal partners have preparedness plans for hurricanes, including major ones.
Students can refer to the Carolina alert system for up-to-date information from the university regarding emergency situations such as hurricanes.