Throughout the past week, our country has experienced a tremendous amount of natural disaster, with more on its way. On Aug. 25, Category 5 Hurricane Harvey hit the coast of Texas for the first time, bringing along major damage, fatalities and even tornados. It then made landfall several other times, causing the authorities in Texas to break the flood dams and put many cities of Texas underwater.

The country united to send water, food and provide shelter to the victims of Harvey; now we have another obstacle to face.

On Wednesday, Sept. 6, Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean and is expected to soon hit the east coast of Florida along with the coast of Georgia and South Carolina. Irma is expected to be much stronger and harder on the Carolinas than Hurricane Matthew was at this time last year.

With winds of 185-mph in the Caribbean and no signs of Irma losing strength, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have declared a state of emergency, forcing many to change their plans for the upcoming week.

Families are being forced to evacuate, leave their homes and belongings where they are and take shelter further inland in order to ensure their safety.

Football games such as Miami-Arkansas State in the NCAA and Dolphins-Bucs in the NFL have had to postpone their events in hopes to keep their players and fans safe. Athletic directors and other officials are continually having to monitor the weather to determine the safest course of action.

Others talk of moving weddings, birthdays and events they had planned in order to keep everyone out of harm’s way.

As an evacuee school, Chapman is currently waiting for the governor to announce the upcoming plans for South Carolina schools.

Many may plan to evacuate from Florida to South Carolina like they have with past hurricanes, with Irma that may not be the safest option. If Irma continues to follow the expected path, after hitting Florida and the coast of Georgia, Irma will then hit South Carolina’s coast and make its way onto land in our state, greatly affecting the upper state of the Carolinas. While normally hurricanes don’t affect us with more than a few inches of rain this far inland, Hurricane Irma is expected to bring much more damage and rain than in the past.

The best thing that we as Carolinians can do is stay calm, get prepared and listen to the people devoting their time to tracking and observing Irma. Everyone must remain safe–items are replaceable; people are not.