Preparations underway in Charleston ahead of Hurricane Ian

CHARLESTON, S.C (WCBD) – Charleston City and County officials are preparing for the potential impacts of Hurricane Ian.

“Be prepared is the basic message,” said Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg.

City and county leaders are working with the National Weather Service, which predicts the area could see six-eight inches of rain between Wednesday and Sunday, bringing the potential for flooding.

“That’s kind of the silver lining of having so much flooding in the area is that we know how to respond to it,” said Ben Almquist, the Director of Emergency Management for the City of Charleston.

To get ahead of the flooding, the Parks Department is slowly lowering water levels in Lake Dotterer and Colonial Lake.

The Stormwater Department will work to place temporary pumps in low-lying areas, while crews are also cleaning out drains and ditches in flooding hot spots throughout the city.

“We’re going to be potentially deploying pumps that will help remove water from areas. Trying to get the flooding mitigated as quickly as possible,” explained Almquist.

Almquist said emergency responders are preparing by coming up with staffing rosters and making sure they have the right resources available such as highwater vehicles.

On the county level, leaders are encouraging people to stay prepared with their own safety plans.

“This is the best time for our citizens to go ahead and make sure that they’ve reviewed their family emergency plans, that they’re going through their emergency kits and that they have all of the necessary articles that they need,” advised Joe Coates, the Director of Emergency Management for Charleston County.

County leaders said residents should follow their social media accounts. Officials told News 2 they will continue to provide more resources once they learn more about the storm.