Irma forces South Carolina captive conference delay

The South Carolina Captive Insurance Association has postponed its conference scheduled for this week to December due to Hurricane Irma, which approached the state Monday as a tropical storm.

The Cayce, South Carolina-based organization was scheduled to hold its conference on Sept. 12-14, but has decided to reschedule the conference to Dec. 5-7 due to the approaching storm, according to a spokeswoman. It will be held in the same Charleston venues with the same format and speakers, she said in an email.

Irma, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes ever observed, and is considered to be extremely dangerous, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The National Hurricane Center said Irma is “a life-threatening situation,” urging people to follow evacuation and other instructions from local officials.

President Donald Trump signed an emergency declaration for South Carolina on Thursday, which makes federal emergency aid available to the state to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts at 75% federal funding.