Hurricane Florence Forecast Triggers Price Gouging Law in South Carolina

South Carolina is in the path of Hurricane Florence, leading Gov. Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency, which triggers anti-price-gouging laws.

“With the possibility that Tropical Storm Florence could make landfall in South Carolina, likely as a hurricane, our people have already started making preparations,” said Alan Wilson, the state’s attorney general, in a statement. “We can expect normal price increases, but we may see businesses and individuals looking to unfairly take advantage of the situation through price gouging of food, gasoline, lodging, and other commodities as defined by the statute. By our law, that’s a criminal violation and an unfair trade practice.”

People caught price gouging can be punished with a $1,000 fine and/or 30 days in jail. Price gouging is a misdemeanor.

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Wilson’s office noted that “normal fluctuations in price are to be expected and are not price gouging.”

People who believe they are victims of price gouging should write down the time, place, address, and name of the business; the price they paid; any prices they see nearby. They should also take pictures that identify the business, along with the price they believe is unnecessarily high.

Send the information via email to [email protected] or call 803-737-3953.

Similar laws have been triggered across Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia.

A forecast for Hurricane Florence shows the projected path, issued by the National Weather Service on Sept. 11, 2018. NWS

Florence Heads Toward East Coast

The latest forecast from the National Weather Sevice has Florence approaching the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina, with projected landfall around 2 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 14.

The hurricane will likely build “a life-threatening storm surge” along portions of the coastlines of both states, along with the coastline of Virginia.

“Life-threatening freshwater flooding” is also deemed likely, potentially extending inland over the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic for hundreds of miles.

The current projected path has Florence hitting the Carolinas, then Virginia, before hitting Maryland and West Virginia.

Along with the storm surge and flooding, damaging hurricane-force winds are likely to appear along portions of the coast of South Carolina and North Carolina, and possibly Virginia.

Evacuations have been ordered across the Carolinas and Virginia, while Maryland has declared a state of emergency.

From NTD.tv