COLUMBIA (WACH, WPDE) -- As we watch Hurricane Irene, many of us think of the hurricanes we've been through before, but what if you're a newcomer to our area, and you've never been through a storm?
If this is your first hurricane season, seeing Irene's updated status to a Category Two with winds fo 100 miles per hour may cause you to think, "All right, time to panic!," but that, said Randy Webster, Horry County's Emergency Operations Director, is the last thing to do.
"It's still several days away, so anything could happen," Webster said. "Really the best thing to do is be prudent for it."
Right now, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division is at OpCon 4, the second lowest of five operational conditions. EMD officials say the best thing all residents can do right now is come up with a plan on what they would do if a major hurricane were to hit. By midweek, once we have a better clue on where Irene is going, it's time to act on those decisions.
Experts say if you're waiting until midweek to devise a plan, you might be stuck battling everyone else at the stores for supplies that may have already run out.
And for hurricane newcomers, SCEMD has a downloadable hurricane guide. It has a lot of useful information in regards to what your need to know before, after, or during a hurricane -- very helpful information in being prepared for a possible landfall from Irene.
Meanwhile, the SkyWACH weather team will continue to have daily updates of Irene on air, online and on our Facebook and Twitter pages..
(WPDE and CarolinaLive.com contributed to this report.)
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