Sanford: More hurricane shelters planned due to bad economy

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has told coastal residents that state and local governments are prepared to deal with hurricanes but people must do their part as well. Sanford is touring the coast to discuss hurricane preparedness.

This year is the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Hugo, a Category 4 storm that smashed into Charleston in 1989. Sanford said Monday that 2009 is supposed to be an average season, but people shouldn’t be complacent.

He said it was also an average season in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew struck south Florida. South Carolina has 247 storm shelters, nine more than last year.

Sanford says the increase is due, in part, to the bad economy with officials expecting more folks to head to shelters instead of driving inland.