COLUMBIA, S.C. _ South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said coastal evacuations and school closings will start Wednesday with Hurricane Matthew churning north toward the U.S.
Haley urged residents evacuating coastal communities to make sure they had a full tank of gasoline.
The goal is to make sure South Carolina residents get 100 miles away from the coast, Haley said.
All of the coastal schools will be closed including in the following counties.
Officials expect to evacuate 1.1 million residents from the coast. As a result, evacuations will not be fast and Haley asked residents to be patient and understand it could take several hours.
"You don't want to be caught in this," Haley said. "If you don't get out in time, you might get stuck."
Lane reversals are planned from roads heading out of Charleston to start at 3 p.m. EDT on Wednesday
Interstate 26 eastbound will be reversed, with traffic heading away from the cost until the intersection of I-26 and I-77 in Columbia. That means commuters in Columbia will not be able to travel I-26 eastbound out of Columbia. However, interstates will be functioning normally northwest of Columbia.
Haley called on Midlands residents to understand that traffic will snarl as coastal-area residents head inland.
Haley said she called for a state of emergency in South Carolina at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The Republican governor and state emergency officials plan to reassess their evacuation plan Wednesday morning.
The powerful Category 4 storm made landfall in Haiti Tuesday and could hit South Carolina's coast Saturday.
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