Beaufort Co. hasn’t had a tornado since 2014, but it soon will have warning sirens
Tornado sirens are coming to Beaufort County even if tornadoes don’t appear to be.
A plan to add 12 tornado sirens throughout the county is moving forward with $333,000 from the federal government, and a second phase that would add 15 additional sirens is in the works, according to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Maj. David Zeoli.
Completing both phases would bring the total number of tornado sirens in the county to 27. Installation on the first phase is scheduled to start in July 2020, Zeoli said.
Tornadoes occur infrequently in Beaufort County. Forecaster Steve Rowley with the National Weather Service in Charleston said that only three have touched down since 2010 and none since 2014.
“Hurricane Irma was our last tornado that touched down and that wasn’t even close to Beaufort County,” Rowley said of a 2017 tornado spree the Charleston area.
But the county’s plan to install the sirens is precautionary.
“It could save a life, and we have lost a life in Beaufort County,” Zeoli said of a 1998 incident where one person died in an F2 tornado.
Having sirens will help get the message to people who lack technology, such as reliable access to internet or smartphones, to track tornadoes on their own. There are some portions of the county where greater than six percent of households don’t have phone service, according to previous reporting from The Island Packet.
On Hilton Head Island, Zeoli said a siren system would help keep beachgoers informed of severe weather. On the beach, they’re less likely to have their phones nearby.
The sirens would be controlled by the National Weather Service in Charleston and would be used only for tornado warnings, Zeoli said. Each siren reaches a 1.5-mile radius.
Phase one
In phase one, 12 tornado sirens will be installed starting next summer:
Beaufort area:
- Russ Point Boat Landing
- Wilmington Street
- Burton Wells County Park
James J. Davis Elementary, Seabrook
Bluffton area:
- Buckwalter Recreation Center
- Technical College of the Lowcountry
- May River High School
Hilton Head Island area:
- Hilton Head High School
Fire Department Palmetto Dunes
Daufuskie Elementary School
St. Helena/Lady’s Island area:
- St. Helena Library
- Lady’s Island fire station on Lands End Road
Phase one will cost about $520,000 in total. Federal grant money for hazard mitigation will fund $333,000, and the Beaufort County Council voted in 2018 to provide a local match of $187,000 to cover the rest, Zeoli said.
Phase two
Fifteen sirens are proposed in the second phase of the project, which has not been approved yet:
Beaufort area:
- Whale Branch High School
- Beaufort Academy
- Port Royal Fire Station
- S.C. 462
- Shell Point Fire Station on Parris Island Gateway
Bluffton area:
- Edgar Glenn Boat Ramp
- S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles
- River Ridge Academy
- Bluffton Township Fire District station on Old Palmetto Bluff Road
Hilton Head area:
- Daufuskie Fire Station
- Coligny Beach area
St. Helena/Lady’s Island area:
- Lady’s Island - St. Helena Fire Station on Lady’s Island Drive
- Lady’s Island - St. Helena Fire Station on Sams Point Road
- Lady’s Island - St. Helena Fire Station on Sea Island Parkway
- Fripp Island Fire Department
Phase two would cost about $459,000, Zeoli said. Beaufort County has applied for a $345,000 federal grant and would have to provide $114,000 in local funds.
The second phase would cost less than the first, Zeoli said, because the controllers for the sirens will already be in place from the earlier installation.
This isn’t the first time the area has tried to address natural disasters before they happen.
In 2015, Beaufort County estimated it would cost around $10,000 to become a “Tsunami Ready” community, although the risk of a tsunami in the area was listed as zero in the Beaufort County hazard mitigation plan.
This story was originally published September 23, 2019 at 4:07 PM.
