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There's a new risk this hurricane season, one that involves banks, property managers and maybe a few houses in your neighborhood. The risk is the thousands of homes going through foreclosure this year.

The challenge for local emergency management officials is to find out if those properties will be ready before a storm arrives or cleaned up after the storm is over.

"We're not sure exactly who's going to be doing that, although it is up to the property owner and that's their responsibility," said Horry County Emergency Management Director Randy Webster.

Banks that handle many foreclosed homes hire property managers to take care of lawn mowing and maintenance, but there is no legal requirement to prepare a building before a hurricane.

Webster says about the only thing his department can do is to keep an up-to-date list of all homes in the county going through foreclosure.

"We're tracking where they all are and at least we'll have an idea of what to maybe expect and my main concern is after the storm, what kind of condition will the property be in if it's not properly taken care of prior to the storm."

Webster said right now, there are about 1500 homes in foreclosure in the county, though that number changes daily, along with their status.

Some are vacant and taken over by banks, while others are still occupied.

"We can tell where they are in the system, but exactly who owns it can be iffy at times," Webster said.

If it's any consolation, at least Horry County isn't alone in facing the issue.

"It's just going to be a problem all over the east coast as a matter of fact for this hurricane season."

Webster said if a damaged home is deemed a public safety hazard, the county has the legal right to secure it to make it safer, but he hopes it doesn't come down to that.

More than 280,000 homes are in foreclosure in coastal counties in nine southeastern states.