COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia is taking a cautious approach to its storm plans, including following the lead of several local school districts.
It’s all part of their storm preparation, as they closely monitor Helene’s progress.
With severe weather conditions forecast for the Midlands, Columbia's Public Works Director Robert Anderson said his teams are getting ready.
“The whole city’s preparing right now, but from a public works standpoint we’re making sure our vehicles are fueled up and we’re getting saws ready. We want to make sure that people understand that if there’s a power line down on something, don’t touch the power lines,” Anderson said.
Anderson said crews have been busy checking and clearing wastewater drains.
"What we do is, we check them to make sure our system’s functioning as good as it can. (We) make sure that all of our catch basins are cleaned off, and if we do have a lot of rain, we want to make sure the storm drain handles it,” Anderson explained.
Wednesday, several merchants in Five Points said they weren’t too worried about potential flooding yet.
But Anderson said the city is ready should they close off certain areas prone to flooding.
“We actually pre-position barricades in those locations in case there is some flooding, then we can rapidly deploy them,” he said.
City officials said Columbia actually consults the local school districts when deciding whether or not to close its offices.