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Record of Proceedings

Emergency Charleston City Council Meeting on Tropical Storm Preparation - September 26, 2025

City Council — Friday, September 26, 2025
BodyCharleston, South Carolina
SessionCity Council
DateFriday, September 26, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 10:22

Transcript — VerbatimClick a line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:03

Yes, we'll do that.

0:05

All right, guys.

0:12

Y'all can just sit tight for a moment.

0:15

Um, we're having some issues getting up the live stream.

0:19

I went ahead and put it up.

0:20

We're um we're on YouTube right now.

0:22

I can see it.

0:23

Okay, you got it going.

0:24

Okay, thank you, Philip.

0:25

All right, I think we're ready to begin.

0:27

All right.

0:28

Uh thanks everybody for joining.

0:29

I'd like to call this uh emergency meeting of Charleston City Council uh to order.

0:34

Madam Clerk, would you please call the roll?

0:37

Councilmember Brad.

0:39

Here Councilmember Seely.

0:41

Here.

0:42

Councilmember McBride.

0:44

Councilmember Mitchell.

0:46

Councilmember Brady.

0:49

Present.

0:50

Councilmember Gregory.

0:52

Councilmember Waring.

0:55

Councilmember Seekings.

0:58

Councilmember Tinkler.

1:00

Here.

1:00

Councilmember Balden.

1:02

Here.

1:03

Councilmember Appel.

1:05

Here.

1:05

Councilmember Parker.

1:07

Here.

1:08

Mayor Cogswell.

1:10

Here.

1:11

Um I'd like to have just a moment of silence.

1:24

Okay.

1:25

Uh now I'd like to call on Chief Mike Jalazida to give us a brief update on storm preparations and where things stand with this formation, whatever you want to call it, um out in the Atlantic.

1:45

So, Chief Jelazida, hand it over to you.

1:48

Thank you, Mayor.

1:49

Uh, Mayor and Council, good morning.

1:51

Thank you for the opportunity to give you a quick briefing.

1:53

I do have uh EM specialist Daniel Fluss is here as well as our emergency management team who've been working to monitor the situation.

2:00

I'd like to start out first with uh Daniel providing a quick overview of the weather scenario uh from the latest information we have from the weather service.

2:09

You have one moment to share the screen here.

2:15

All right, just verifying you see a graphic of the uh ocean right now.

2:21

Yes, I can see it.

2:22

Right.

2:23

Daniel.

2:25

Good morning.

2:26

So as you look at this map, we're not concerned about Umberto or Gabriel.

2:31

We're concerned about the blob that's uh to the east of Cuba.

2:34

Uh we're calling it Disturbance 94L.

2:38

If it becomes a hurricane, it's uh, or I'm sorry, uh a tropical storm eventually or hurricane, it will be called Emelda.

2:53

The Weather Service, National Weather Service Charleston has presented us with three potential scenarios.

3:00

Uh none more likely than the other, except that now with scenario three, they're they're discounting that.

3:07

So scenario one uh would have it uh impact anywhere from say Savannah up to the South Carolina-North Carolina border.

3:16

Scenario two uh would have it head toward us, still have some impacts, possibly even um uh uh uh stall for a bit and then veer off to the right.

3:30

A lot of uncertainty though.

3:32

That that's uh a key word we need to be thinking about.

3:36

So some key forecast points before this uh before future amelda even comes to our area.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Emergency Management█████████████████████████████████████████████62%
Procedural███████████████████████31%
Water And Wastewater Management█████7%
Summary of Proceedings

Emergency Charleston City Council Meeting on Tropical Storm Preparation - September 26, 2025

The Charleston City Council convened an emergency meeting on September 26, 2025, at 2:33 PM ET to receive an update on a developing Atlantic disturbance (94L, potential Tropical Storm Emelda) and discuss the city's preparedness measures. The meeting included a briefing from Chief Mike Jalazida, Emergency Management Specialist Daniel Fluss, and responses to council member questions.

Discussion Items

  • Storm Briefing: Chief Jalazida and Specialist Fluss provided an overview of the weather scenario. They identified Disturbance 94L east of Cuba as the primary concern. The National Weather Service presented three potential scenarios, though scenario three (direct hit) was being discounted. Scenario one predicted landfall from Savannah to the NC/SC border; scenario two had the storm approaching Charleston, possibly stalling and veering right. High uncertainty remains; clarity may come later on September 26. Key forecast: 0.5–1.5 inches of rainfall tomorrow (September 27) with an outlier potential of 2–3 inches.
  • City Preparations: Stormwater has deployed pumps; police have verified barricades are ready; fire is preparing high-water vehicles; communications are preparing public messaging; Livability and Tourism have contacted the carriage industry; Public Works has a sandbag plan. Additionally, all city lakes, including Lake Dodder, have been ordered lowered.
  • Parking Garage Plan: Councilman Seekings asked about opening parking garages for potential flooding. Chief Jalazida confirmed that three parking decks have been designated for possible opening on Monday (September 29), with two more in reserve, depending on rainfall amounts. The city will issue a news release when garages are needed.
  • Lake Dodder Concerns: Councilman Sheely noted residents' concerns about Lake Dodder levels, which dropped last night but remain not as low as residents feel safe. The lake drains at low tide into Church Creek. He requested continued efforts to lower the level.

Key Outcomes

  • The city will continue monitoring and preparing. The next coordination calls are:
    • Charleston County at 5:00 PM ET
    • Berkeley County at 6:00 PM ET
    • City leadership call at 6:30 PM ET
  • An updated briefing will be sent to council members via city email after the 6:30 PM call. A follow-up meeting may be scheduled if conditions warrant.
  • The mayor emphasized that uncertainty does not mean lack of preparation; citizens should prepare emergency kits, know their evacuation zones (downtown Zone B, West Ashley Zone C), and follow updates.

Meeting Transcript

Yes, we'll do that. All right, guys. Y'all can just sit tight for a moment. Um, we're having some issues getting up the live stream. I went ahead and put it up. We're um we're on YouTube right now. I can see it. Okay, you got it going. Okay, thank you, Philip. All right, I think we're ready to begin. All right. Uh thanks everybody for joining. I'd like to call this uh emergency meeting of Charleston City Council uh to order. Madam Clerk, would you please call the roll? Councilmember Brad. Here Councilmember Seely. Here. Councilmember McBride. Councilmember Mitchell. Councilmember Brady. Present. Councilmember Gregory. Councilmember Waring. Councilmember Seekings. Councilmember Tinkler. Here. Councilmember Balden. Here. Councilmember Appel. Here. Councilmember Parker. Here. Mayor Cogswell. Here. Um I'd like to have just a moment of silence. Okay. Uh now I'd like to call on Chief Mike Jalazida to give us a brief update on storm preparations and where things stand with this formation, whatever you want to call it, um out in the Atlantic. So, Chief Jelazida, hand it over to you. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, Mayor and Council, good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to give you a quick briefing. I do have uh EM specialist Daniel Fluss is here as well as our emergency management team who've been working to monitor the situation. I'd like to start out first with uh Daniel providing a quick overview of the weather scenario uh from the latest information we have from the weather service. You have one moment to share the screen here. All right, just verifying you see a graphic of the uh ocean right now. Yes, I can see it. Right. Daniel. Good morning. So as you look at this map, we're not concerned about Umberto or Gabriel.

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