The Williamstown Welcome Center saw a steady flow of traffic for the Labor Day weekend. (Photo by Madeline Scarborough)

WILLIAMSTOWN — The Williamstown Welcome Center saw plenty of holiday traffic for the Labor Day weekend, including a handful of brave souls traveling to the South Eastern Coastline.

Patricia Lord was among visitors to stop at the Welcome Center Monday afternoon. Lord works for the Richland County (S.C.) EMS. While neighboring counties have been ordered to evacuate, Richland County has not, she said.

Evacuations were ordered, schools closed and states of emergency declared as Georgia and the Carolinas braced for impact from Hurricane Dorian.

“I am travelling back to help with the evacuations,” Lord said. “You don’t know how bad the hurricane will get, last year Hurricane Florence wasn’t expect to hit South Carolina, but we got hit real hard.”

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster Monday afternoon ordered the evacuation of 820,000 people living along the entire South Carolina coast.

A display with pamphlets on what to do in emergency situations and be prepared, especially for those travelling south, is available at the Williamstown Welcome Center. (Photo by Madeline Scarborough)

A bus carrying travelers to Gorgia from Amish Country in Ohio, stopped in, but because of the evacuation orders, they were rethinking their destintion, said Sara Blevins, a worker at the Welcome Center.

Co-worker Sue Milewski said she has talked to many travellers who are traveling south toward home.

“There were some people who change travel plans and decided to come visit West Virginia instead,” Milewski said.

Bob Knaus, a traveller from Sebring, Fla., said he and his wife were headed away from the storm and going to Amish county.

“We are going to get hit either way, and there is no sense staying down there for it,” said Knaus.

Kim, Colin and Ed Hayes eat Monday at the Williamstown Welcome Center on their way south. They are not travelling into the coastal regions, but are hoping evacuations don’t extend their travel time. (Photo by Madeline Scaroborough)

“We will be without power and water for days with nothing to do, so we are making the best of it and taking a vacation,” he said.

At 4 p.m. Monday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Dorian was a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, which is down from 155 mph earlier in the day.

Traveller Beth Alkire is in the process of moving to Milton, N.C., with her fiancee.

“We are more inland, so not too worried about the Hurricane,” she said.

Over in North Carolina, no mandatory evacuations have been ordered, but Gov. Roy Cooper said he’s activated 300 members of the National Guard to help with preparations and storm response.