As Dorian draws near, coastal residents express frustration with another evacuation

Lane reversals on I-26 are scheduled to continue until further notice

LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WOLO) —People living in coastal communities started to make their way up through the Midlands to escape Hurricane Dorian’s path.

Governor Henry McMaster (R-SC) issued a mandatory evacuation for parts of eight South Carolina counties Sunday. The lane reversals to allow more people to get up along I-26 westbound were scheduled to begin at noon Monday, but started around 10:30 a.m. instead.

For some people living along the coast, leaving their home as a result of a storm has begrudgingly become a yearly event.

“Here we are again, being evacuated again, but some of our neighbors stayed behind, but we thought it’d be safer to come,” said Dot Brannon, who lives in Beaufort County and was on her way to Cherokee, South Carolina.

Some say they don’t like having to worry from year to year about another storm hitting.

“You find that you always have anxiety from the day it starts until the day it ends,” said Joan Krainin, a former Charleston resident who now lives east of Jacksonville.

Even their four-legged friends are not too keen on taking the trip.

“As soon as he sees the suitcase come out, he begins to stay very, very close to us,” said John Krainin when talking about his dog, who went along for the ride up to Boone, N.C.

Some are also bringing along their worries about what could happen to their homes.

“You could have damage to your roof or a projectile goes through your window or somehow there’s an intrusion of water in your house. Life changes,” Krainin said.

As some people make another journey away from the coast, some say it takes its toll after a while.

“It’s expensive. Not everybody can afford to leave home and buy food on the road and hotels on the road,” Brannon said.

A spokesperson with the South Carolina Highway Patrol says the lane reversal system on I-26 will keep going until further notice, saying that the direction of the storm and traffic patterns due to the evacuation play into that decision.