Amid neighboring tragedy, Beaufort Co. drops tornado sirens in coronavirus cost-saving
Amid unprecedented tragedy in a neighboring county this week, Beaufort County’s long-planned project to install its first tornado sirens has been shelved due to budget constraints attributed to coronavirus.
Twelve tornado sirens have been planned throughout Beaufort County for years. Emergency officials said in September 2019 the work was expected to begin by July.
The $520,000 project was to be paid for in part by a $330,000 federal grant, with the remaining money coming from county funds. Because of revenue shortfalls attributed to the COVID-19 outbreak, the project won’t move forward, county spokeswoman Liz Farrell said.
County emergency officials have withdrawn a $122,000 request for matching funds for the sirens in the upcoming budget for the next fiscal year.
“We have to look at what is a priority right now,” Farrell said. “Because we are already so well-positioned to get the word out — all the agencies in the county, not just Beaufort County — that’s just not one of them right now.”
A second phase of 15 sirens was planned but did not yet have funding. The county received an extension on the federal grant money for the first phase, until April 2021, but that money will lapse if the project remains shelved.
Nine people throughout the state were killed Monday, including five in Hampton County, as tornadoes were reported during the early morning storms. A National Weather Service team assessed damage Tuesday to try to determine the strength of the tornado that tore through the community of Nixville, meteorologist Pete Mohlin said.
The process typically includes a visual survey and talking to eyewitnesses and local emergency managers. Storm investigators are taking extra precautions because of the coronavirus outbreak and might limit personal contact, Mohlin said.
The tornado sirens have a range of 1 1/2 miles and are tied to the National Weather Service warning system. The meteorological office also sends regular alerts during tornado warnings and posts regular updates on social media accounts. Emergency officials can push alerts directly to phones.
“Damaging tornado on the ground in Hampton County just east of Estill!” the National Weather Service’s Charleston office posted to Twitter just before 6:30 a.m. Monday. “Those in Almeda, Camp Branch, and Cummings should take cover now!”
Sirens would help warn people who might not otherwise have phone service or the technology to receive alerts, such those living in rural areas or beachgoers, emergency officials say.
Six of the new devices were to be installed throughout northern Beaufort County. Those include the Russ Point Boat Landing on Hunting Island, the St. Helena Library and fire station on Lands End Road, downtown Beaufort on Wilmington Street, Burton Wells Park in Burton and James J. Davis Elementary School in Seabrook.
Two sirens were to be placed on Hilton Head Island and one on Daufuskie Island. Another three would be installed in the Bluffton area.
Tornadoes have not been common in recent years.
Three tornadoes have been confirmed in Beaufort County since 2010 and none since 2014, the National Weather Service said. The county’s only tornado-related death was in 1998.
A tornado rated EFO — the weakest on the federal scale measuring twisters — briefly touched down in the Beaufort River near Henry C. Chambers Watefront Park in June 2014 and was technically a waterspout, Mohlin said. Another waterspout over the marsh in April 2013 might have moved briefly onto Hunting Island as a tornado, he said.
A small tornado touched down just west of Bluffton in 2010 and traveled only a short distance, destroying a shed, knocking over fences and damaging vehicles and siding of homes.
A tornado touched down in North Myrtle Beach during Hurricane Matthew, but none were confirmed in Beaufort County.
A St. Helena Island couple thought a tornado or microburst was to blame for lifting off the tin roof of their farmhouse as Hurricane Dorian passed offshore last year.
Beaufort County was under a tornado watch during the storms Monday but never under a warning, which indicates a tornado is present.
Neighboring Hampton, Varnville and Estill were under a warning Monday morning. Hampton County has one tornado siren, in Varnville about 10 miles north of Nixville.
