thedrifter
09-03-08, 09:02 AM
Local bases set up centers in anticipation of Hanna
Published Tue, Sep 2, 2008 12:00 AM
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Beaufort-area residents aren't the only ones holding their breath as a tropical storm -- more likely a hurricane-- barrels toward the Lowcountry.
As Tropical Storm Hanna nears the Bahamas, packing maximum sustained winds near 70 mph, Beaufort's military community is preparing for the storm's Lowcountry landfall, which now appears imminent.
Personnel inside the Emergency Operations Center at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island are keeping a watchful eye on the storm, and will evacuate recruits, Marines and sailors stationed at the depot if necessary, said Master Sgt. Mark Oliva,depot spokesman.The center was set up Tuesday to monitor the storm's progress.
"The commanding generalis reviewing pre-prepared plans and options to properly respond to the concerns forthecoming storm," Oliva said of Brig. Gen. James B. Laster. "At this time, no decision has been made to evacuate recruits or families of Marines and sailors. However, commanders are closely monitoring the forecasted track of the storm, and plans are already in place should an evacuation be ordered."
It will likely take a Category 3 hurricane or stronger to evacuate Parris Island, at which point recruits will be moved inland to continue their training, the depot said.
Tropical Storm Hanna weakened Monday as upper level winds tore the storm apart, preventing it from becoming more organized, though meteorologists expected the storm to gain strength today.
The National Hurricane Center expects that the storm will become a hurricane again over the next two days before hitting somewhere along the East Coast on Friday.Forecasters had the storm tracking through South Carolina on Friday, which might mean a mandatory evacuation for residents on Thursday morning, according to a release issued Tuesday by Beaufort County Emergency Management.
The county urged residents to begin securing their homes and making arrangements for a possible evacuation, should the storm intensify before making landfall.The county said that schools will operate as usual today and that decisions regarding school closures for later this week would be made by noon today.
The South Carolina National Guard is ready for whatever Hanna has to throw at the Lowcountry and at the state, said Col. Pete Brooks,national guard spokesman.
"We're more prepared than we've been in the past five years," he said, citing a low number of National Guard deployments statewide that have put the national guard in an advantageous position to respond to a natural disaster.
Of the 10,000 South Carolina National Guardsmen, about 250 to 300 of them are deployed, Brooks said.
"We've got all the personnel and equipment we need, and right now, we're just watching the weather like everybody else," he said. "We're ready to respond when called."
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort put out a release of its own Tuesday, urging Marines and their families to prepare for the storm's arrival.
The location of the graduations of the 2nd and 4th Marine recruit batallions has changed. Those graduation will be held at 8 a.m. Thursday in the All-Weather Training Facility at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
If a hurricane threatens the area, all of Marine Aircraft Group 31's F-18s, as well as those of VFA-86, the base's lone naval squadron, would be flown to various air bases throughout the Southeast and out of harm's way.
Each plane is worth about $29 million, the air station said.
Ellie
Published Tue, Sep 2, 2008 12:00 AM
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Beaufort-area residents aren't the only ones holding their breath as a tropical storm -- more likely a hurricane-- barrels toward the Lowcountry.
As Tropical Storm Hanna nears the Bahamas, packing maximum sustained winds near 70 mph, Beaufort's military community is preparing for the storm's Lowcountry landfall, which now appears imminent.
Personnel inside the Emergency Operations Center at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island are keeping a watchful eye on the storm, and will evacuate recruits, Marines and sailors stationed at the depot if necessary, said Master Sgt. Mark Oliva,depot spokesman.The center was set up Tuesday to monitor the storm's progress.
"The commanding generalis reviewing pre-prepared plans and options to properly respond to the concerns forthecoming storm," Oliva said of Brig. Gen. James B. Laster. "At this time, no decision has been made to evacuate recruits or families of Marines and sailors. However, commanders are closely monitoring the forecasted track of the storm, and plans are already in place should an evacuation be ordered."
It will likely take a Category 3 hurricane or stronger to evacuate Parris Island, at which point recruits will be moved inland to continue their training, the depot said.
Tropical Storm Hanna weakened Monday as upper level winds tore the storm apart, preventing it from becoming more organized, though meteorologists expected the storm to gain strength today.
The National Hurricane Center expects that the storm will become a hurricane again over the next two days before hitting somewhere along the East Coast on Friday.Forecasters had the storm tracking through South Carolina on Friday, which might mean a mandatory evacuation for residents on Thursday morning, according to a release issued Tuesday by Beaufort County Emergency Management.
The county urged residents to begin securing their homes and making arrangements for a possible evacuation, should the storm intensify before making landfall.The county said that schools will operate as usual today and that decisions regarding school closures for later this week would be made by noon today.
The South Carolina National Guard is ready for whatever Hanna has to throw at the Lowcountry and at the state, said Col. Pete Brooks,national guard spokesman.
"We're more prepared than we've been in the past five years," he said, citing a low number of National Guard deployments statewide that have put the national guard in an advantageous position to respond to a natural disaster.
Of the 10,000 South Carolina National Guardsmen, about 250 to 300 of them are deployed, Brooks said.
"We've got all the personnel and equipment we need, and right now, we're just watching the weather like everybody else," he said. "We're ready to respond when called."
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort put out a release of its own Tuesday, urging Marines and their families to prepare for the storm's arrival.
The location of the graduations of the 2nd and 4th Marine recruit batallions has changed. Those graduation will be held at 8 a.m. Thursday in the All-Weather Training Facility at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
If a hurricane threatens the area, all of Marine Aircraft Group 31's F-18s, as well as those of VFA-86, the base's lone naval squadron, would be flown to various air bases throughout the Southeast and out of harm's way.
Each plane is worth about $29 million, the air station said.
Ellie