As Hurricane Florence, a Category 4 storm, nears the southeastern coastline of the U.S., hospitals and health systems across the Carolinas and Virginia, among other areas, are evacuating patients and providing alternate resources for people seeking medical care.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued a medical evacuation order for all healthcare providers in several coastal counties Sept. 10, which went into effect the same afternoon. Hospitals have 72 hours to complete the evacuation. States of emergency have also been declared in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia and the Carolinas in preparation for the storm, which is expected to make landfall later this week.
Georgetown, S.C.-based Tidelands Health said it applied for an evacuation waiver but was denied and began evacuating patients Sept. 10. Myrtle Beach, S.C.-based Grand Strand Health will discontinue elective surgeries and close outpatient facilities, effective Sept. 11. Patients evacuated from Myrtle Beach-area hospitals have been relocated to sister facilities, including to Doctors Hospital in Augusta, Ga., according to News Channel 6.
Hurricane Florence is the latest of several hurricanes to devastate parts of the U.S. during the past year. Hurricane Harvey, which struck Texas as a Category 4 storm in August 2017, dropped more than 60 inches of rain, causing flooding that damaged more than 300,000 buildings, according to Newsweek. The hurricane created 52 tornadoes and inflicted a total of $125 billion in damage, making it the second-costliest hurricane in U.S. history behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Hurricane Irma crossed the Florida Keys on Sept. 10, 2017, as a Category 4 storm. It was later downgraded to a Category 3 storm when it hit Florida's mainland the same day. The storm resulted in 25 tornadoes and caused $51 billion in damage, Newsweek reports. Some hospitals are still struggling with the damage the storm caused. Marathon, Fla.-based Fishermen's Community Hospital, which sustained significant damage from Hurricane Irma, is still awaiting a $40-million rebuild one year after the storm, the Miami Herald reports.
Puerto Rico was similarly devastated by hurricanes Irma and Maria last year, which both made landfall in quick succession last September. The hurricanes knocked out power for more than 1 million people and left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity and drinkable water for months, according to Newsweek. While the death toll in Puerto Rico as a result of the storms has been controversial, a recent study commissioned by the Puerto Rican government estimated roughly 2,975 people died.