Orangeburg, SC (WLTX) -- Orangeburg County has begun preparing for the potential effects Hurricane Michael could bring to the area. Both the Emergency Services Director and the County Administrator said this storm could be worse then Hurricane Florence was to their area.
County Administrator Harold Young said his major concerns are flooding and power outages. Young said typically the the electric companies in the county have good response time as far as getting the power back on after storms. Those utility companies also clear tree lines to prevent as much damage as possible during the year. Young said he wants the public to be prepared early especially since this will be a fast moving storm.
"These storms are unpredictable and what we learned from Florence is there were a lot of people who let their guard down because it didn't pan out to be what it was," Young said. "We could potentially get more damage from a smaller storm like this."
Director of Emergency Services Billy Staley said a major sector of Orangeburg County will feel some sort of impacts from wind and rain. Staley said they are expecting wind speeds of 50 to 60 mph and could see those effects as early as Wednesday morning.
"Just because this storm is coming from the Gulf and it is not coming in from the Atlantic, it's coming from the Gulf, doesn't mean we are not going to have impacts from this storm," Staley said.
Young said the county will make any operational announcements regarding closures or any other changes no later then noon on Wednesday. They do not have any shelters open yet, but have locations and cots ready if they need to open a shelter for the community.