2023 ® LOVE AND BRIDAL - MEET SOME OF THE BEST Chosen by Readers, Won by Leaders! JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 DANIEL ISLAND | ISLE OF PALMS | SULLIVAN’S ISLAND JULY/AUGUST 2023 2023 THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES AT ISLEOFPALMSPODCAST.COM ISLAND EDITION • HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS • CALENDAR OF EVENTS Paradise Found Community True as the Tide Pickleball Craze Invades The Islands Coleman Boulevard Mount Pleasant’s Main Street Sweetgrass Baskets Honoring Local Heritage For Mount Pleasant Magazine distribution or marketing information Publisher@MountPleasantMagazine.com Publishing for our neighboring community: Isle of Palms. 24 ty residents also had to contend for weeks with driving on busy highways with no functioning traffic lights due to upended utility poles and power outages. That also meant most residents had no power – or air conditioning – for weeks or even months. Daily chores included boiling drinking water on outdoor grills or standing in long lines waiting for a delivery of bottled water to finally arrive at National Guard and Red Cross distribution sites. Cooking on cans of Sterno or charcoal grills, searching for a gas station that was open and actually had electricity to pump gas and finding a grocery store that might be operational because it had a generator were additional challenges. And even then, there was no guarantee there would be any food or supplies left on grocery store shelves. Relying on the newspaper and battery-operated radios, the public hung on every word for the latest updates on when and where help was available. Weeks turned into months for many residents. What had initially seemed like it might be a “minor inconvenience” HISTORY to some and, for others, maybe even the thrill of meeting Mother Nature face-to-face, quickly turned to stress and anxiety when reality set in. But some had realized in advance what was in store. Hugo had shown its might a week earlier when it hit several Caribbean islands on its journey to our coast. Local authorities pleaded with Lowcountry residents to evacuate or seek higher ground. And to residents who had weathered hurricanes in the past, they emphasized that this was no ordinary visitor. Charleston’s former mayor Joe Riley had warned, “We are staring this killer hurricane right in the eye.” While it’s true that lesser hurricanes have hit or swiped our area in the 34 years since it made landfall here, anyone who lived through Hugo and its aftermath won’t ever take any hurricane warning for granted. Owens has evacuated every time since then whenever authorities urge doing so and added, “Every single person I’ve talked to who stayed during Hugo has said never again!” Patrick O’Neil, mayor of Sullivan’s Island, has reminded residents that it’s not a matter of if, but rather of when, as far as the occurrence of a hurricane. Residents and property owners there must now obtain a special hang-tag from town hall in order to return to the island after a mandatory evacuation. Isle of Palms Mayor Phillip Pounds urged “the importance of adhering to evacuation orders as well as maintaining an emergency kit with at least a three-days’ supply of essentials.” He also suggested that island residents refer to the city’s website for important emergency preparedness information. Mount Pleasant’s Mayor Will Haynie emphasized that “there is no downside to over preparing” for a hurricane and added that if everyone follows official advisories to stay safe, it will also ensure that first responders can do their jobs safely. Even once a hurricane has passed, the physical, emotional and economic toll on Lowcountry residents can linger for an extended period, as was the case with Hugo. Although their stories may now be relegated to history, the horror of that hurricane and its aftermath are forever etched in the memories of those who experienced the storm of the century. IslandVibesIOP.com From Page 23
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