General Hurricane Information - Ocean Hill Community

General Hurricane Information

Emergency Info > Hurricane Information

Hurricane season on the Atlantic coast is from June 1 to November 30. However they can also occur outside of these dates according to the Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory .

Information, preparation, and execution are key to successfully dealing with and surviving these storms.

Have an evacuation plan. Review the City of Myrtle Beach Hurricane Preparedness Plan and the lastest conditions at the National Weather Service Hurricane Center..also check this Preparedness Guide.
Prepare an evacuation kit well ahead of time
Plan your evacuation route and have a paper map marked and ready.
Evacuate early! After a mandatory evacuation order is issued, it could take 8—10 hours to travel just 100 miles. Complete gridlock on the interstates and back roads is not uncommon.
Expect spotty or no cell service due to tower overloading
Before leaving, consider calling a hotel along your route (ie Lumberton NC) and book a room for late arrival.

Other things to consider when you evacuate in addition to the standard suggested items...

Water, snacks
Flashlights and batteries
Emergency gas if you can carry it safely
Toilet paper and plastic containers for bodily functions (you may be in the car in the middle of nowhere for a very long time)
Important papers (wills, POA, health records, home inventory, etc), photos, and passports
Laptop and/or your desktop PC system unit (you can get a replacement monitor/keyboard/mouse anywhere)
Chargers for phones, laptops, etc (both for car and 110v)
Computer passwords, external backup hard drives, and critical flash drives
Change of clothes, a couple of towels and blankets
Emergency cash and credit cards

Other thoughts after having been through several of these...

Keep your gas grill propane tank filled and/or keep an extra filled tank. You may be cooking the contents of your freezer.
Keep extra charcoal on hand for your grill (see above).
Obtain and test an Over the Air (OTA) TV antenna. Cable TV and internet is usually the first service to go and the last to be restored.
Fill bathtubs with water. This is best used for flushing toilets if city water service is out.
If you have a generator, keep fresh gas and test it monthly.
Assuming natural gas and city water are still in service, you can run your Rinnai water heater off of a generator or even a small 12v inverter plugged into your car. It draws less than 100 watts. This will give you hot water when the power is out. Unlike tank water heaters, the Rinnai only needs power for the control circuit board and ignition.
Some routers have the ability for a cell phone to be plugged in to be used as a celluar modem if cable is out. If yours does, this will restore your wifi, assuming power available. Another option is to use your cell phone as a wifi hotspot. Check with your carrier ahead of time to see if this is available with your service plan.
Being close to the downtown area and close to all of the high rise buildings, there is a pretty good chance that power will be restored here early on... but don't count on it.

2023 Hurricane Names