HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The Horry County Emergency Management Division is rolling out information on new evacuation zones in a collaborative effort with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division and local municipalities.
The last time Horry County rezoned evacuation zones was in 2012. The new evacuation zones are based on the potential for storm surges and recent data received from the National Hurricane Center.
“It used to be with the previous zones we had big natural boundaries such as Ocean Boulevard, Highway 17, the Intracoastal Waterway,” said Thomas Bell, a spokesman for Horry County Emergency Management Division.
The Horry County Public Safety Committee met Tuesday afternoon to talk about new evacuation zones that are officially in place.
The county received new data from the National Hurricane Center on areas most vulnerable to storm surges. Bell said the data was also based on what the county has seen from previous storms.
The county said the new evacuation zones are more specific to reflect the data and help prevent over-evacuating.