Hurricane Evacuation for Myrtle Beach

Hurricane Evacuation for Myrtle Beach

The month of June means a few things to people who travel to Myrtle Beach. For starters, it means gridlocked weekend traffic on Hwy. 501 and a hike in tourists. It also becomes the ideal time to take in a baseball game or a relaxing trip to the beach.

However, the beginning of June also marks another, more stigmatic time of year: the start of another hurricane season.

The reality is hurricanes will continue to pound the shorelines and inland areas of Myrtle Beach. Knowing how and where to evacuate before disaster strikes is a necessary part of visiting Myrtle Beach.

With thousands of tourists visiting Myrtle Beach each year it is important to know the best routs to get out of the city, just in case there is an emergency.

Luckily, the state has approximately 10 approved evacuation routes in the county. Here’s the list, north to south:

1. S.C. 9 – Ideally for residents of Little River and North Myrtle Beach, Route 9 provides easy access west along the border of North and South Carolina. Take it all the way to Interstate 95 in Dillon.

2. S.C. 22 – It intersects with Hwy. 17 in North Myrtle and bows out to upper Conway lower Aynor, dumping drivers onto Hwy. 501.

3. U.S. Hwy. 501 – the main vein for incoming and outgoing beach traffic, 501 becomes completely one way in case of an all out evacuation. Follow 501 all the way into Florence.

4. S.C. 544 – Socastee, Murrell’s Inlet and Surfside residents should rely on S.C. 544 to connect them to U.S. 501 in case of evacuation.

5. U.S. 378 – Rural Conway and Aynor residents will use 378 to shoot them west instead of having to head back east to 501.

6. S.C. 51/41 – Another rural route that connects the northern part of Georgetown County/Southern parts of Horry to 37