Ian is predicted to make landfall as a hurricane once more. This time in South Carolina.

North and South Carolina have been on alert Thursday as Ian made its method towards them after slicing a path of destruction by Florida.

The storm, downgraded to a tropical storm after putting Florida’s west coast as a serious hurricane Wednesday, is predicted to turn into a hurricane once more by Thursday night, the Nationwide Hurricane Middle stated.

A hurricane warning is in impact for the whole coast of South Carolina. A tropical storm warning prolonged to a portion of the North Carolina coast.

Rivers in North and South Carolina — South Santee River and Pamlico River — have been additionally issued storm surge watches by the hurricane heart, whereas others, such because the Neuse River and St. Johns River, got storm surge warnings.

The storm is predicted to method the coast of South Carolina on Friday and transfer inland throughout the Carolinas on Friday night time and Saturday, quickly weakening because it strikes throughout land, in accordance with the Nationwide Hurricane Middle.

In anticipation of the storm, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued a state of emergency for South Carolina Wednesday. The governors of North Carolina and Georgia did the identical.

“If you happen to haven’t but made plans for each contingency, this afternoon is the time to take action,” McMaster stated Thursday. “We are able to count on to expertise a whole lot of rain all through the state together with harmful storm surge in low-lying coastal areas. With the potential for hurricane pressure winds alongside our coast, it’s essential for South Carolinians to plan now.”

Whereas South Carolina faces the most important menace from the storm, North Carolina and Georgia additionally may see vital flood occasions due to the downpour and storm surge created by Ian.

Officers urged residents in these states to stay on alert regardless that the storm has been downgraded after its catastrophic flip in Florida, although that they had not ordered any evacuations.

“Simply because it is not hurricane does not imply storms cannot be lethal,” stated Daniel Kaniewski, who served as a deputy administrator on the Federal Emergency Administration Company throughout the Trump administration. “As we noticed with Hurricane Ida, there have been extra fatalities from that storm in New York, New Jersey than there have been in Louisiana.”

Ida, which initially hit Louisiana final 12 months earlier than making its approach to the northeast, got here as a shock to many in New York and New Jersey. The flooding caught officers and residents there flatfooted.

Kaniewski, who’s now managing director of the danger administration and technique agency Marsh McLennan, stated the flooding dangers after a hurricane strikes may be vital — even because it weakens.

Although Ian is now a tropical storm, it nonetheless has the energy to dump an enormous quantity of rain on the Carolinas and Georgia. It will probably additionally draw vital quantities of water up rivers and streams, creating immense flood dangers.

Kaniewski stated it may show to be “completely catastrophic relying on the setting and the place that water finally ends up.”

“The important thing level, simply because it was the important thing level earlier than it made landfall in Florida, is that residents ought to heed the recommendation of native officers as a result of these impacts may be extremely localized and the native officers will know primarily based on the modeling what the impacts are prone to be,” he stated.