a. A state of emergency shall be deemed to exist whenever, during times of great public crises, disaster, rioting, civil disturbances, catastrophe or for any other reason, public safety authorities are unable to maintain public order or afford adequate protection for lives, safety, health, welfare or property.
b. In the event of a state of emergency threatening or endangering the lives, safety, health and welfare of the citizenry or threatening damage to or destruction of property, the Mayor is hereby authorized and empowered to issue a public proclamation declaring to all persons the existence of such a state of emergency.
c. In order to more effectively protect lives, safety and property, to define and impose a curfew applicable to all persons within the jurisdiction of the Town Council, the Mayor is further authorized and empowered to limit the application of such a curfew to any area specifically designated and described within the jurisdiction of the Town Council and to specific hours of the day or night and to exempt from the curfew law enforcement officers, firefighters, doctors, nurses and such others as may be essential to the preservation of public order and immediately necessary to serve the needs of the people within the corporate limits.
(S.C. Code § 5-7-250) (Prior Code, § 2.212)