The people who work to keep you safe during a disaster in Horry County want a new emergency operations center, but that could be years away.
The big reason is money; the project could cost up to $26 million, and council says right now they do not have the funding. But Friday, they got a better idea of what the center would look like and where it would go.
The county’s emergency manager, Randy Webster said the current EOC is too small and can’t even properly do its job: handle emergencies. “The building is just not an emergency operations center,” he said Friday.
Hurricane Matthew sparked the discussion about building a new center after roads around the current EOC flooded and there was not enough room for power equipment and the National Guard.
Webster said the EOC used now was not built for wind speeds over 115 miles per hour–or a major category three hurricane.
“There’s no place for people to stay 24 hours a day,” Webster said. “There’s no way to feed folks that are there in the mass that comes for an emergency operation center.”
The new 39,000 sq. foot facility would also house the county’s 911 dispatch center.
Webster said the county is looking at years 2022 or 2023 to get the needed funding in place.
Until then he said the county will work on finalizing designs and permits.
