COMMUNITY PREPARATIONS
The town, community association, and Kiawah entities are coordinating storm preparations, in partnership with Charleston County's Emergency Management Department and regional counterparts.
DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE
KICA continues to lower pond levels to increase rainwater storage capacity and drainage gates have been closed to incoming tides. This process relies on the outgoing tide to pull water out of the ponds, so lowering is a multi-day process. Currently, most ponds have been lowered 12-15 inches.
SOLID WASTE COLLECTION
The town's contracted trash collection services will be conducted on Monday, but other solid waste collection services may be impacted later in the week, based on the forecast.
The town will remove trash receptacles from the beach on Monday.
COMMERCIAL SERVICES GATE CLOSURE
KICA does not currently plan to close Kiawah Island gate access to property owners, guests, or employees but will close commercial services access on Tuesday, Aug. 6, and access is expected to remain closed through Thursday. Only emergency repair services will be permitted, with authorization from KICA Security. Contact securitysup@kica.us to gain authorization and provide the service provider's name, date and time of arrival, and reason for service.
UTILITIES
Local utility companies like Berkeley Electric, Kiawah Island Utility (water), AT&T and Comcast are preparing for the storm. Although no companies plan to turn off services, if critical infrastructure is at risk, services may be temporarily suspended.
EMERGENCY SERVICES
St. John’s Fire Department has a high-water vehicle and is ready to assist. The department will respond to all calls. With a high call volume, there may be a need to triage and prioritize response.
BUSINESS CLOSURES
The community association's Beachwalker Center and the Sandcastle plan to close at noon on Monday, Aug. 5 and remain closed through Thursday, weather dependent.
The Town Hall Building is closed with essential personnel on-site and non-essential personnel working remotely. To contact town staff, residents can call 843-768-9166.
Freshfields Village does not anticipate any closures but will keep their website updated.
EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS
The Town of Kiawah Island leads communications in an emergency. Be sure to get the latest updates from the town by registering for CodeRED and emergency email notifications.
You can expect another email update on this storm tomorrow afternoon.
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