Hurricane Florence is projected to hit South Carolina this Tuesday. This category three storm is likely to delve high degrees of rainfall this category four storm is likely to be similar to Hurricane Harvey which caused an estimated 150-200 billion in damage and 63 fatalities. According to Accuweather Hurricane expert Dan Kottowski, “It’s very similar to Hurricane Harvey because Harvey was a slow-tracking hurricane which weakened to a tropical storm, and this could be the same kind of situation”

According to Time the rainfall amount is predicted to be anywhere from 10-15 feet with winds up to 140 miles per hour.

South Carolina is in in the direct projected path of the storm but according to Tim Smith of the Greenville News the state is ready to enact any and all evacuations measures such as mandatory evacuation zones and highway traffic reversals. The government in South Carolina has improved immensely since Hurricane Hugo struck the state in the late nineties. At the time mandatory evacuation zones and interstate lane reversals were not the norm but these have become standard procedure when tropical storms and hurricanes become apparent threats.

As Hurricane Florence grows strength and begins to approach being a category 5 that can bring sustained winds of over 156 miles per hour and up 20 feet of rain South Carolina has issued a mandatory evacuation of many coastal counties. It is estimated that over one million people will be displaced by the storm.

One symptom of the high winds that accompany category 5 hurricanes are “storm surges” which bring large waves that are at least ten feet high that often breach or destroy sea walls. However, the most dangerous part of a category 5 storm is torrential downpour which can drop feet of water in just minutes. It is rainfall of this sort that causes the greatest deal of inland flooding which leads to highways being covered, mudslides, and house flooding which can be lethal to anyone who does not follow evacuation orders

South Carolina governor Henry McMaster has said in a statement, “This is a real Hurricane we have coming. We don’t want to risk one South Carolina life.” The mandatory evacuations will begin at noon on Tuesday for many South Carolina counties and is predicted to displace over one million residents and visitors.