State agencies to conduct full-scale hurricane evacuation exercise Wednesday
State and local agencies will conduct a full-scale exercise on Wednesday, June 4, to test lane reversal plans on I-26, U.S. 21, U.S. 278, U.S. 501, and S.C. 544. The drill will last from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.
No traffic lanes will be reversed or closed during the drill, but drivers should expect to see equipment, state personnel, and more law enforcement officers staged along the shoulder of the highway and at exits.
The Civil Air Patrol, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and South Carolina Forestry Commission will also be conducting aerial surveillance.
'These exercises help ensure that we are prepared to respond to a hurricane threatening our state,' said Robert G. Woods IV, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety director. 'Together with our state partners, we remain ready to quickly and efficiently move residents and visitors from the coast to the Midlands in the event that a mandatory evacuation order is given.'
Storm Team 2 releases 2025 Hurricane Ready Guide
Locally, lane reversal begins near mile marker 197 (Nexton Parkway) and I-26 in Charleston toward I-77 and I-26 in Columbia.
Officials said the exercise should not disrupt traffic flow as intersections will not be blocked, and drivers will be able to travel freely.
Forecasters are gearing up for a busy Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1 and runs through the end of September, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration putting the chance of an above-normal season at 60%.
The agency's outlook predicts a range of 13 to 19 named storms, six to 10 of which could become hurricanes. Three to five are forecast to become major hurricanes, with winds of 111 mph or higher.
'Forecasts are pointing to an active hurricane season,' said South Carolina Emergency Management Division Director Kim Stenson. 'Hurricane Helene was a reminder that it only takes one storm to cause major impacts for South Carolina. It's critical for everyone — not only people who live along the coast — to review and practice their hurricane plans now.
You can download Storm Team 2's Hurricane Ready Guide to find vital information about how to keep your family and property safe throughout the 2025 season.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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a day ago
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'While the stay in respite might be short, the relationships that you build, and the support we offer, is long term with that connection with Haywood Street.' John Madden, 78, who prefers to go by "Jaunito," was living in Mexico when he fell ill. Unable to afford a doctor there, he came back to Asheville, where he lived for more than a decade before the pandemic in 2020. "I came back with no plans but to stay alive, if I could, or find out what was going on,' he said. He's experienced homelessness before — he estimated about 25 days total in the last five years — but the 10 days on the street before securing a spot at respite were brutal. One night on the street, "and I unravel in a way that is startling," he said. 'This place has been beyond miraculous," Madden said of the respite. "The staff are astonishing. I call them ninjas, because they have to handle every kind of problem, from psychological to housing ... I started to exhale once I got through the door.' Phillip Lucero, 65, was clear about the emotional and physical toll homelessness takes. He was in shelters for about three years, and on the street "fairly recently." 'This can really happen to anybody. I had a very good job. I had a really good apartment … And it just, piece by piece, fell apart in a matter of months," Lucero said. 'A couple of bad decisions and here I am. And it is extraordinarily difficult to survive." Places like respite make it possible, he said. They do a good job to make you feel "at home." He, Madden and Fowler are on various housing waitlists. Lucero said he has been on some of them for years. 'You become a target' The respite is working to break a cycle people can become trapped in when experiencing homelessness: bouncing from the street, to shelter, to jail, to the hospital and back. It is complicated by a lack of shelter beds. Further complicated by difficulty finding affordable housing. Sleeping or existing outside while homeless can result in a second-degree trespassing charge, Brown said. 'When you're homeless, you become a target for a lot of people. No one really cares about you," Guar said. You are arrested for disorderly conduct, for trespassing or are kicked out of buildings. It was enough to make him feel like no one "wanted anything to do with me." 'But these people here care," he said of respite. "They've shown me that there is people out there that care. My mentality has changed completely.' How to get help Call Haywood Street Respite at 828-301-3782. Learn more about respite referrals at More: BeLoved Asheville rebuilds with resilience in Swannanoa's Helene-damaged Beacon Village More: Could Asheville get alcohol-friendly social district downtown? Council may consider it Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@ or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Downtown Asheville's Haywood Street Respite is expanding its beds Solve the daily Crossword
