Community preparedness — South Carolina
Hurricanes, catastrophic flooding, tornadoes, and extreme heat from the coast to the mountains. Clemson Extension in all 46 counties. 20+ ham radio clubs. CERT teams from Greenville to the Grand Strand. South Carolina prepares for the full spectrum.
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Emergency response & training
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Community calendar
46
County extension offices
2
NWS forecast offices
20+
Amateur radio clubs
16
Technical colleges
Where to plug in
South Carolina faces hurricanes and storm surge on the coast, extreme flooding inland from tropical remnants, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes statewide, extreme heat, and winter ice storms in the Upstate. Clemson Extension in all 46 counties serves a state that spans barrier islands to Blue Ridge foothills.
Clemson University Extension operates offices in all 46 South Carolina counties. Programming spans agriculture (peaches, tobacco, poultry, soybeans), horticulture, food safety, nutrition, 4-H, and community development. South Carolina State University also operates 1890 Extension programs. After the 2015 flood, extension agents helped farm families throughout the Midlands and Lowcountry navigate disaster recovery.
The Master Gardener program trains volunteers for SC's long subtropical growing season. Extension runs food preservation workshops, hurricane preparedness education, and flood recovery programs. Your county extension office is the starting point for practical skills and disaster preparedness resources in South Carolina.
South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD) coordinates the state's all-hazards emergency program through county emergency management offices. SC's EM system is heavily hurricane-focused on the coast but also addresses the statewide flooding risk that the October 2015 event made impossible to ignore.
CERT programs are active across SC. Charleston, Greenville, Richland (Columbia), Horry (Myrtle Beach), Beaufort, and other counties run programs. After the 2015 floods dropped over 20 inches of rain across central and coastal SC in a 72-hour period, killing 19 people and causing $12 billion in damage, CERT enrollment grew significantly. Training is free.
American Red Cross chapters serve all of South Carolina. First aid, CPR, AED, and water safety classes are offered in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, and other communities year-round. SC Red Cross is experienced with hurricane evacuations and catastrophic flooding responses.
During the October 2015 flood, Red Cross opened emergency shelters across multiple SC counties and provided meals and relief to thousands of displaced residents. Red Cross deploys for hurricanes, flooding, and home fires statewide. Volunteer entry points include shelter operations, disaster assessment, and feeding.
South Carolina has over 20 amateur radio clubs in the ARRL South Carolina Section. ARES teams are activated during hurricane threats, flooding, and tornado outbreaks. Ham operators provided critical communications across flooded SC counties during the 2015 flood when cell networks were overloaded.
Getting licensed costs $15 for the exam and about $35 for a basic handheld radio. Study at hamstudy.org. Clubs in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, and throughout the state host exams regularly.
Two NWS offices primarily serve South Carolina: Greenville/Spartanburg (upstate SC, including the Upstate and Piedmont) and Charleston (the coastal plain, Midlands, and Lowcountry). Each runs SKYWARN spotter training before severe weather season.
SC's weather hazards include hurricanes, catastrophic flooding from tropical remnants, tornadoes (SC is underestimated as a tornado state), severe thunderstorms, extreme heat, and Upstate ice storms. The 2015 flood proved that rainfall from a stalled system can be as devastating as a direct hurricane hit. Training is free.
South Carolina has over 180 public library locations overseen by the SC State Library. Richland Library (Columbia), Charleston County Public Library, Greenville County Library System, and Horry County Memorial Library run extensive community programming. SC libraries serve enormously diverse communities from beach resort towns to rural agricultural communities.
The SC Technical College System operates 16 colleges across the state, including Midlands Technical College (Columbia), Trident Technical College (Charleston), Greenville Technical College, Horry-Georgetown Technical College (Myrtle Beach), and Piedmont Technical College. They offer EMT certification, fire science, welding, electrical work, and nursing programs.
Why this matters
In early October 2015, moisture from Hurricane Joaquin — which never made direct landfall in South Carolina — combined with a slow-moving frontal system to produce catastrophic rainfall across the state. Some areas received over 20 inches in 72 hours — amounts that meteorologists described as exceeding a 1,000-year return period. Rivers broke records across the Midlands. Nineteen people were killed. Hundreds of roads and bridges were damaged or destroyed. Damage exceeded $12 billion.
The flooding affected communities that had never flooded before. Columbia's downtown was cut off. Dams failed across the Midlands. Neighborhoods in Richland, Lexington, and Sumter counties that had flooded minimally in any previous storm were under several feet of water. CERT volunteers mobilized across the affected counties. Ham radio operators provided emergency communications. Red Cross opened shelters across multiple counties simultaneously.
Extension agents helped displaced farm families and rural landowners assess damage and navigate USDA recovery programs. Community organizations coordinated supply distribution. Neighbors with boats and high-clearance vehicles helped residents evacuate flooded neighborhoods.
The 2015 flood permanently changed how South Carolina thinks about inland flooding risk — every county, not just the coastal ones, needs flood preparedness plans. The organizations on this page build that preparedness across all 46 counties.
The foundation
Community resilience begins with a household that can take care of itself. Cover the first 72 hours, then extend outward to your street, your neighborhood, your town.
Start with the first 72 hours