News and Announcements

October 17, 2016    

10:00 a.m.

HORRY COUNTY MOVES TO OPCON 3

Conway, South Carolina – Horry County has moved to Operating Condition (OPCON) 3 due to flooding issues regarding Hurricane Matthew. OPCON 3 means that the flooding continues to pose a serious threat to Horry County.  

Additional flooding information:

• The Horry County Emergency Operations Center remains activated 24 hours a day.
• As of Monday morning, the Waccamaw River was at 17.78 feet, just shy of the old record of 17.8 feet set after a hurricane in 1928 and higher than the levels reached after Hurricane Floyd in 1999.  Also, the Waccamaw River reached a crest of 16.2 feet in the October 2015 flood.  According the latest information from National Weather Service, the Waccamaw River is expected to crest at 17.9 late this evening or early Tuesday morning.
• Water levels continue to rise in Bucksport and along the Intracoastal Waterway in Socastee. Families continue to evacuate those areas.
• In addition to flood security checkpoints throughout the county, barricades have been also been placed in the following areas in Socastee:
  • Folly Road (flooded to Hwy 823)
  • River Road (flooded to the COPE station)
  • Star Creek Road (to 1037-1033)
  • Smith Boulevard (to Earl Street)
  • Rosewood Drive (to Cottonwood)
  • Luttie Road (to Smith Boulevard)
• As of yesterday, there were 57 at the shelter located at Christ the Servant Lutheran Church located at 2105 US 501 in Conway.  An additional shelter has also been opened at the Church of Christ on Glenn’s Bay Road.
• Highway 701/Main Street is closed between Chicora & Millpond Road.

Substantial amounts of debris continue to arrive at many of the Horry County Solid Waste Authority’s convenience centers following Hurricane Matthew.  The county is aware that residents may experience long waits at the convenience centers due to the extremely high volume of loads going into the sites. 

Horry County is encouraging residents who live along county maintained roads to place their tree/yard debris at the right-of-way as an alternative to self-hauling.  Crews have been mobilized and are currently picking debris off of the right-of-way in neighborhoods. 

Horry County has also set-up a debris management hotline at (843) 340-9536, which is available daily to provide information about debris management operations.  The hotline is staffed by a Horry County representative from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 

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