Where will Hilton Head’s leaders be if an evacuation is ordered?

Although no Hurricane Irma evacuation order has been issued for Beaufort County, most Hilton Head Town Council members say they plan to leave if the order is given.

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster said Thursday if he orders an evacuation, it will take effect Saturday at 10 a.m.

Mayor David Bennett, who received public backlash for being in Orlando during Hurricane Matthew last year, said Thursday he plans to stay in the area unless Irma is a Category 4 or higher if it gets to the island, in which case he would evacuate north to Barnwell. Bennett said he likely will stay at the emergency operations center at USCB in Bluffton as long as it is safe to do so.

Council member Kim Likins, the mayor pro tem, said depending on the strength of the storm, she may stay at USCB in Bluffton. She said if she has to evacuate, she has reservations in Columbia.

Here are the evacuation plans for other Town Council members:

David Ames said he plans to be in Atlanta, but those plans are not finalized.

Marc Grant said he likely will evacuate to Greensboro, Ga.

Bill Harkins said he plans to evacuate to the Asheville, N.C., area.

Tom Lennox said he plans to evacuate to Aiken.

John McCann said he plans to evacuate to Greenwood.

Town manager Steve Riley said Thursday he does not know where he will be during the storm and likely won’t know until Sunday. He said he might stay at USCB in Bluffton, but that depends on the intensity of the storm.

This story was originally published September 8, 2017 at 9:45 AM with the headline "Where will Hilton Head’s leaders be if an evacuation is ordered?."