Mandatory South Carolina Evacuations For Hurricane Matthew Begin

Mandatory evacuations began in South Carolina as Hurricane Matthew churned through the Bahamas and toward a United States landfall. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Wednesday morning that only people in and around Charleston and Beaufort counties are being ordered to evacuate on Wednesday.

Haley had called Tuesday for an evacuation of all coastal communities within 100 miles of the shore, which would affect some 1 million people. But a change in the storm's forecast changed her plans, and only Charleston and Beaufort counties will be evacuated Wednesday.

Those evacuations were scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and include residents in "certain parts of bordering coastal counties," Haley's order said. Those areas include Berkeley, Colleton, Dorchester and Jasper counties. Eastbound lanes of I-26 will begin being closed at noon. By 3 p.m. they were expected to be running westbound to get as many people out as possible.

Hurricane Matthew was a Category 3 storm Wednesday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. Its current projected path called for landfall in Florida beginning Friday morning before it moved up the coast. It is expected to hit South Carolina on Saturday morning if current forecasts hold.

Buses from upstate will be available at the North Charleston Coliseum to take residents away from the danger.

Georgetown and Horry counties will be evacuated Thursday morning, Haley said.

SEE MORE:

• Hurricane Matthew Strengthens on Path Toward Florida
• Information from the SC governor's office on evacuations and road direction changes
• Enter your address here and see if you are affected by the mandatory evacuations.
• Read more information about South Carolina's Hurricane Matthews plan here.

This story will be updated with the latest South Carolina evacuation developments.

Image via NOAA