Potential hurricane impacts kept Berkeley County officials on alert
As Berkeley County officials flew over the Cainhoy Peninsula on Saturday evening to assess damage from Hurricane Matthew, they were relieved to see that the area had been spared the potential devastation of a worst case scenario. In addition to the Daniel Island, Cainhoy and Huger areas, they also assessed other parts of the county, and noted fairly minor storm impacts overall.
“There was flooding onto Clements Ferry Road in a couple of places, at I-526 and also at Jack Primus Road,” said Berkeley County Public Information Officer Michael Mule. “We were really fortunate that this storm turned a little bit at the very end. The expected storm surge or inundation didn’t have the effect that everyone was expecting it would…so we were really fortunate.”
In addition to standing water in some areas, there were also many trees down throughout the county, noted Mule, particularly in Cross, St. Stephen and Moncks Corner. A social media post by the county on October 8 noted that more than 30 roads were closed as a result of the storm, including Nelliefield Creek Drive, Cainhoy Road, and Brightwood Drive on the Cainhoy Peninsula.
“When (the storm) made that turn it also increased a lot of the wind and damage that we saw in the northern and eastern parts of the county,” he said. “…Moncks Corner for example had the fourth or fifth highest reported wind gusts in the tri-county area.”
Even with all the information and data available in preparing for massive storms such as Hurricane Matthew, it’s not an exact science, added Mule.
“There is nothing we would have changed in terms of our preparations,” he said. “You have to prepare for the worst because you never know exactly what’s going to happen…It’s not like a math test in that with a math test you study the formulas and nothing is going to change…With a hurricane, you study all the projections and prepare accordingly, but the storm could (and in this case did) change course at the very last second.”
To help keep tabs on damage throughout the county, Berkeley County set up a special Facebook Page to allow residents to post information about their properties and share photos. As of Monday, some 1500 people had joined the group. Mule encouraged Daniel Island and Cainhoy area residents to utilize the newly established social media page (https://www.facebook.com/BerkeleySCGovDamage/) in reporting hurricane-related impacts to their properties to assist the county in their damage assessment process. In addition, he noted that Trident United Way’s “Helping Hands” program has volunteers who are willing assist residents and business owners who need help with debris clean-up or mold mitigation. For more information, call 1-800-451-1954.