Hurricane Florence is battling its way through the southeastern and mid-Atlantic United States, forcing more than a million people to evacuate from winds, rain, and storm surge — but South Carolina reportedly won’t evacuate the 934 inmates and 119 prison staff of one of its prison.

The prison, Ridgeland Correctional Institution, is located in Jasper County, which was part of the evacuation order on Monday, September 10. Despite the evacuation order, South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) spokesman Dexter Lee told South Carolina paper The State that officials decided not to remove inmates. SCDC told The State that they believe it will be safer not to transfer inmates to another location. Essential prison staff will remain, as well.

“Right now, we’re not in the process of moving inmates,” Lee told The State. “In the past, it’s been safer to leave them there.”

Prison evacuations have been an issue during previous hurricanes. When Hurricane Katrina hit the Orleans Parish Prison in 2005, more than 1,000 inmates spent almost a week in chest-high water, according to a 2006 report by the American Civil Liberties Union. The prison’s generators failed, ventilation was gone, and food services stopped. According to Human Rights Watch, 517 inmates went missing.

But with Hurricane Florence, South Carolina’s biggest worry is flooding. James Kossin, an atmospheric scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, told NPR on Tuesday “poses the greatest risk to life.” Moreover, since much of the soil in the region is already saturated, flooding will begin as soon as the rain starts to pour, The Washington Post reported.

“There’s a concern anytime [with flooding] in a storm of this magnitude,” Lee told The State.

Aside from the prisoners, South Carolina governor Henry McMaster took a hard stance on protecting South Carolinians: “We’re not going to gamble with the lives of the people of South Carolina. Not a one.”

According to the The Virginian Pilot, roughly 960 inmates were relocated from Indian Creek Correctional Center to Greensville Correctional Center in Virginia. However, three local city jails are not evacuating, the Pilot reported. WFMY News 2 reported that prisons and jails in North Carolina are being evacuated.

“Everyone in North Carolina needs to take this vicious, life-threatening storm seriously,” North Carolina governor Roy Cooper said, according to WFMY News 2. “Shelters are opening tonight and will be available to keep you and your family safe out of Hurricane Florence’s path.”

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