Columbia, SC (WLTX) - There are shelters open across the state for people who need a warm place to stay and get away from the effects of Florence.
Counties offering shelters:
- Richland County: Ridge View High School at 4801 Hard Scrabble Road and Francis Burns United Methodist at 5616 Farrow Road are open now. Shandon Baptist, 5250 Forest Drive; Temple of Faith at 2850 Congaree Road; Trinity Church at 1501 Hallbrook Drive; and Washington Street United Methodist at1401 Washington Street will open at 5 p.m. Friday. Pets are not currently accepted at these location.
- Pet-friendly Richland County: Grace United Methodist at 410 Harbison Boulevard and Shandon United Methodist Church at 3407 Devine Street will open at 5 p.m. Friday.
- Orangeburg County: Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School at 601 Bruin Drive and Lake Marion High School at 3656 Tee Vee Road. Lake Marion is currently listed as being pet-friendly.
- Sumter County: Mayewood Middle School at 4300 East Brewing Road and Sumter High School at 2580 McCrays Mill Road. Service animals are allowed, but NOT pets.
- Kershaw County: Camden High School at 1022 Ehrenclou Drive is now open. Kershaw County Parks and Recreation at 109 College Street will open at 4 p.m. Friday.
Some other pet-friendly shelters throughout the state:
- Dubose Middle School at 1005 Dubose School Road in Summerville
- Cane Bay High School at 1624 State Road in Summerville
- Blenheim Elementary School at 143 Highland Street in Blenheim
Website: Full List of South Carolina Closures
For a full list of shelters throughout the state, visit scemd.org.
Full Closings List:
To see all of the closes that News19 has received, go to the WLTX closings page.
SC Emergency Hotline:
1-866-246-0133
That's for anyone with questions related to Hurricane Florence.
Stay Informed/Stay Connected
The best thing to do is make sure you're staying informed. You may want to review your hurricane plan, and check up on any of your supplies that you might need, such as batteries and flashlights. Keep up to date by reading the forecast articles here on our website or app, and we'll of course have regular updates in all of our newscasts.
You can also review the South Carolina Emergency Management Division's checklist for preparation. Again, no need to panic and run out and buy things at the grocery store. But it's just good to go ahead and look at it. There are a ton of good resources there.