Emergency Shelters Opening

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Emergency shelters will be available for residents and visitors who are evacuating from southern coastal areas due to Hurricane Irma.

Shelters are generally the place of last resort. Individuals and families are encouraged to have emergency plans in place. These plans should include relatives or friends with whom you can stay or locations to which you will travel.

In the event that you must use a shelter, please consider the following before arriving:

Bring your own pillows, blankets and cots as these items might not be available at every location.
If you are on a restricted diet, bring your own specialty food items.
A complete list of open shelters is available at scemd.org/shelters-rss and is updated in real-time as more shelters become available.

The Department of Social Services is designated as the lead agency for coordinating mass care operations. In particular, DSS works with the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, the Department of Health and Environmental Control and other state agencies and volunteer relief organizations in disaster situations to coordinate the capability to meet basic human needs (shelter, food, bulk distribution of emergency relief supplies, disaster welfare inquiries, and emergency social services).


Residents evacuating from the southern South Carolina coast may go to one of the following emergency shelters:

Colleton County – OPEN AT 9 a.m.
Colleton County Middle School
1379 Tuskegee Airmen Dr.
Walterboro, S.C.

Jasper County - OPEN AT 10 a.m.
Ridgeland High Junior-Elementary Complex
250 Jaguar Trail
Ridgeland, S.C.

Richland County – OPEN AT NOON
Dent Middle School
2721 Decker Blvd.
Columbia, S.C.

ADDITIONAL SHELTERS WILL BE OPENED BASED ON NEED.
CURRENT SHELTER STATUS IS UPDATED AUTOMATICALLY ONLINE AT WWW.SCEMD.ORG/SHELTERS-RSS.