South Carolina detention centers say it will not relocate inmates in mandatory evacuation zones

Two detention facilities in South Carolina that are within government-mandated evacuation zones will not relocate inmates ahead of Hurricane Florence’s landfall there.

Inmates at the Al Cannon Detention Center in Charleston County and the Berkeley County Detention Center will not be moved elsewhere, according to Buzzfeed News. 

{mosads}”The Detention Center can withstand sustained winds up to 155 mph,” Roger Antonio, a spokesperson for the Charleston County sheriff’s office, told Buzzfeed. “It is self-reliant and functional with generators in place to ensure security and safety needs.” 

“The facility is self-sustaining and safe,” Mike Cochran, chief deputy for the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, told BuzzFeed News. “The county is larger than Rhode Island; it is not coastal or subject to any potential storm surge where the jail is at.”

Hurricane Florence, which the National Weather Service warned is life-threatening, is now a Category 2 storm and made landfall in North Carolina Thursday.

It is expected to impact Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. All four states declared a state of emergency.

President Trump has urged people within evacuation zones to heed the warnings of state and local officials.