Gov. McMaster extends South Carolina’s State of Emergency amid ongoing Helene recovery and new impacts from Milton

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – Governor Henry McMaster on Thursday extended South Carolina’s State of Emergency as the state continues its recovery from Hurricane Helene and monitors impacts from Hurricane Milton.

The order keeps activated the state’s emergency operations plan and allows the emergency management division to coordinate with state agencies, allowing necessary resources to move into areas of need.

“We will work as long as it takes to ensure all South Carolinians get the support they need,” McMaster said in a post on X.

Gov. McMaster initially issued the state of emergency order on September 25 as much of South Carolina was lashed by Hurricane Helene, which brought strong winds, tornadoes, flooding, and extended power and water outages to many communities.

The state has reported 49 storm-related deaths .

According to Gov. McMaster’s order, preliminary reports show the storm damaged over 5,500 homes and businesses in South Carolina, including more than 2,000 homes that were destroyed or suffered major damage.

13,500 utility poles had to be repaired or replaced in the storm’s wake.

As recovery continues, primarily in the Upstate region, portions of South Carolina’s coast anticipate some impacts from Hurricane Milton now that the storm has moved out over the Atlantic Ocean after slamming into Florida’s west coast as a powerful category 3 storm .

Gusty wind, coastal flooding, and beach erosion are likely.

“Forecasted high winds and wind gusts associated with Hurricane Milton may further destabilize trees and structures damaged or weakened by Hurricane Helene, which could disrupt or impact ongoing efforts to complete the restoration of power and other critical utility services in certain portions of the state,” the governor wrote in his declaration. “

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