Hurricane Season and Assisted Living: What to Ask a Charleston Facility

Why hurricane planning belongs on every Charleston tour

Families touring assisted living around Charleston tend to ask about dining, apartments and activities, and only later think about the week in late summer when an evacuation order comes. By then the plan is already written. South Carolina makes that plan a licensing requirement: Regulation 60-84, Section 1401, says every community residential care facility must have a written emergency and disaster evacuation plan, developed with its county emergency preparedness agency, reviewed every year and rehearsed by staff at least once a year.

The regulation also says a resident or responsible party may inspect the plan on request. That turns a vague worry into a concrete step: ask to read it, ideally before signing an admission agreement.

The coastal rule that applies only in Charleston County

One part of the regulation is unusual. For buildings in Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Horry, Jasper and Georgetown counties, at least one sheltering facility named in the plan must sit outside those six counties. The idea is simple: a storm that threatens a West Ashley building may also threaten a shelter in Mount Pleasant.

Berkeley and Dorchester are not on that list, so buildings in Goose Creek, Moncks Corner and most of Summerville are not bound by the inland requirement, although they still need a full plan and a signed sheltering agreement. The table below shows how the area's senior-serving assisted living splits by county on DPH's current data.

Source: S.C. DPH licensing data as of November 6, 2026; Regulation 60-84, Section 1401.B.1.c.

What the plan has to contain

The regulation lists three parts. The sheltering plan names the receiving facility, its address and phone, and includes a letter of agreement signed by that facility stating how many residents it can take and how they will sleep, eat and get medications. That letter must be renewed at least every three years.

The transportation plan covers the number and type of vehicles, how and when they are obtained, who drives, how medical support, food, water and medications travel, the estimated time to move everyone and primary and secondary routes. The staffing plan explains how care continues at the shelter and how staff get there.

Twelve questions worth asking

Use these on a tour or in a follow-up email. Write down the answers and keep them with the admission agreement.

1. May I read the evacuation plan?
2. Which facility is named in the sheltering agreement, and in which county?
3. When was the agreement last signed?
4. How many residents can the shelter take, and is that enough for a full building?
5. Which vehicles are under contract, and are any wheelchair accessible?
6. Who drives, and who rides with residents?
7. How do medications, oxygen and records travel?
8. How long did the last evacuation take?
9. How will families be notified, and how fast?
10. What happens if the shelter is full or unreachable?
11. Does the building have a generator, and what does it power?
12. When did staff last rehearse the plan?

The days after the storm matter too

Many problems arrive after the wind stops: heat without air-conditioning, water outages, and staff who cannot reach work because roads are closed. Section 1403 requires a written plan to keep essential services going through power outages, water shortages and weather-related staff absences. Ask what that plan says about cooling, refrigerated medications and meals.

DPH must be told immediately when residents are displaced, with a written report within 72 hours, and by the next workday the facility must report which residents went where. Ask the administrator to add you to the list of people who receive that information directly.

What a strong answer sounds like

Good administrators answer evacuation questions with specifics: the name of the receiving facility, the date the agreement was signed, the bus or van company under contract, the number of trips needed for a full building and the time the last move took. Vague answers, such as promises that corporate handles it, deserve a follow-up email asking for the same details in writing.

It is also fair to ask what the building learned from its most recent evacuation or near-miss. A team that can describe what went wrong and what changed is usually a team that rehearses.

Planning for a parent who lives at home

The regulation protects residents of licensed buildings. A parent who still lives at home on James Island, in Mount Pleasant or in Summerville has no such plan unless the family makes one. Write down where your parent will go, who will drive, which medications and medical equipment travel with them, and how neighbors and family will stay in touch.

Charleston County's emergency management agency and the state's emergency management division publish evacuation zone and route information each season; check your parent's address before June, not when the first storm is named. If a parent depends on oxygen or other powered equipment, plan for days without electricity as well as the evacuation itself.

Nursing homes follow a federal rule as well

Certified nursing homes must meet the federal emergency preparedness requirements at 42 CFR 483.73: a risk-based plan, written policies, a communication plan, training and drills, and emergency and standby power. The same questions apply. A nursing home that answers them crisply, with names and dates, usually runs the rest of its operation the same way.

For the regulation itself, see our guide to hurricane evacuation rules for Lowcountry facilities.