By Betsy Finklea
Local officials are making plans and preparations for Tropical Storm Debby and are urging citizens to do the same as the storm nears.
At this time, it appears that the major impacts of Tropical Storm Debbie will be felt here from Tuesday through Thursday.
Dillon County Administrator Tim Harper said the county is having conference calls with the State EMD (Emergency Management Division) daily. “We would encourage residents to start preparing and watch the information from the weather service,” Harper said.
Dillon City Manager Glen Wagner said the city is “cleaning outfall ditches, clearing storm grates from latest storms, and relocating equipment from flood prone areas. They are “continuing normal day operations for sanitation.”
“Citizens should be aware of all flood prone areas and not drive through flooded roads;” said Wagner. Citizens should “clean storm grates that may be near their property, and limit placing yard debris along street this week,” Wagner said. “Stay aware of weather and stay off roads if flooded.” Wagner said the city is “hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. We all remember 2016 and 2018 hurricanes,” Wagner said. “The city will post as much information as we can on our City of Dillon facebook page as needed,” Wagner said. The city website can be found at https://www.cityofdillonsc.gov/.
Lake View Mayor Sterling Lee said he has been meeting today (Sunday, August 4th) with Police Chief Simon Temple and Maintenance Supervisor Toney McDuffie and crew preparing for this storm. “We are checking drains and ditches and making sure equipment is working. I am also going around checking on seniors to make sure that they have bottled water and medicine to last for the entire week,” Lee said. He also noted that the big National Night Out program planned for Tuesday, August 6, has been postponed as they are preparing their community center to serve as a shelter if needed.
Latta Town Administrator Daniel Rogers said he was meeting with his chief and has storm-related meetings on Monday morning and will provide more information later.
Dillon District Four Superintendent said they will start school as planned tomorrow, Monday, August 5th. He said they are waiting for more information from Disaster Preparedness on Monday and will decide what they are going to do after that. Dillon District Three Superintendent Stephanie Ard said Latta is the same for now.
Check www.dillonnews.org for more information about the storm preparations underway and the latest forecasts. Most importantly, get storm ready.
