• The South Carolina Department of Insurance will host a Catastrophe Claims Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Home Depot in Bluffton to assist consumers with their insurance questions and claims. South Carolina Department of Insurance staff will be available to assist and answer questions and will be joined by South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, FEMA and many of the major insurance companies covering the property and automobiles damaged in this event. Additionally, the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles will have a mobile unit on hand that can provide credentials and duplicate tiles or registrations if consumers lost their originals in the storm.
• The graduation ceremony for Golf and Oscar Companies will take place at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14 at the Peatross Parade Deck. Typical family day activities that occur on Wednesday and Thursday have been cancelled. Guests will not be allowed access to Parris Island until 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 14.
• The Beaufort County dusk until dawn curfew has been lifted.
• The boil water advisories have been lifted for St. Helena, Coosaw, Secession (Gibbs), Cane, Cat, Distant, Warsaw and Vivian’s Islands as well as Point South. They are still in effect as of Oct. 12 for Hilton Head.
• Hilton Head Hospital, Coastal Carolina and Beaufort Memorial Hospital’s emergency services have resumed.
• Palmetto Goodwill is working with local chapters of the American Red Cross to provide help to those affected by Hurricane Matthew. Goodwill will be providing vouchers worth $35 that can be used to purchase clothing and shoes. Vouchers can be redeemed at any Palmetto Goodwill retail store location. The Goodwill stores located on Hilton Head Island is closed due to damage from the hurricane.
To begin the process to obtain a voucher, call the Red Cross at 800-768-8048. Palmetto Goodwill is accepting disaster donations of clothing, furniture and other household goods at all local Goodwill stores.
• The South Carolina Association for Justice is providing a free service to homeowners in South Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.
If any property owner suspects or has been a victim of price-gouging, scams, or other storm-related crimes, they will connect you with a SCAJ member attorney in your area to assist you. Call 803-799-5097.
• All Parks and Leisure Services (PALS) facilities will remain closed to the public until further notice due to their utilization as post-storm recovery centers.
• The Beaufort, Bluffton and Lobeco branch libraries have reopened for normal business hours. The Hilton Head Island and St. Helena branches were closed due to power outages as of Oct. 11.
• Beaufort County public schools will reopen Monday, Oct. 17. “It’s important that we allow our students’ families and district staff sufficient time to get their lives back together,” said Superintendent Jeff Moss. “Many families are dealing with extremely trying circumstances. In addition, an informal survey showed that we could expect 50-60 percent of our staff to be available if schools were to be open Thursday and Friday.”
• Beaufort County is ready to assist homeowners who will be rebuilding, repairing and reconstructing storm-damaged structures in an orderly, safe and timely manner. To help with this effort, the County’s Building Codes Offices in Beaufort and has reopened at the County Administration Building, 100 Ribaut Road, 2nd Floor, Beaufort, and Myrtle Park Building, 4819 Bluffton Parkway, 3rd Floor, Bluffton.
Questions regarding permits should be sent via email to wbcodes@bcgov.net or by calling the Beaufort County Building Codes Office 843-255-2065.
• Hargray has restored about two-thirds of its service to inland customers affected by the hurricane and half of its customers on Hilton Head and other islands now have services restored.
• The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will be operating limited offices in Jasper County (407 Live Oak Drive, Ridgeland). The office can provide credentials and duplicate titles or registrations if customers lost their originals in the storm, and other limited transactions. The office will not offer road tests.
