Rain to fall as South Carolina recovers from massive flood

Hurricane Joaquin is long gone, but hard-hit South Carolinians are bracing for more rain and evacuations while still in post-flooding mode.

The rain is expected to begin late Friday night.

America’s generous hearts are still needed in the Palmetto State.

There is still flooding in South Carolina. South Carolina had been affected by the dry weather worse than any other Southeastern state.

Traffic has been detoured off the interstate since Sunday.

Rivers rose and dams bulged Wednesday as South Carolina faced another anxious day of waiting for the floodwaters to recede, and dive teams searched for two people who disappeared in waters after they drove around a barricade. “Underneath that water is that state that is so handsome – that is damaged, but we have to fix it”, said Gov. Nikki Haley, who warned that any final damage estimates could still be weeks away.

Assistant City Manager Missy Gentry said they removed another 341 tons of debris Friday, which added to the 331 tons removed on Thursday, and crews will be out again this weekend.

She looked on the verge of tears as she described losing all their possessions, including her vehicle and the baby’s clothes, crib and toys, which Harding said they cannot afford to replace.

What she heard was off on the time but was otherwise correct.

With questions about road safety and the availability of clean water still up in the air, Richland One schools will remain closed Monday, the district announced in a news release.

It’s also spawned more than three dozen boil advisories, including in Columbia, where more than 300,000 water customers have been anxiously awaiting completion of a makeshift dam in the Columbia Canal to stabilize pressure at that water treatment plant, which is pumping about 25 million gallons of water a day. “We’ve seen the worst of this”.

CSRA bottled water donations delivered to Columbia Friday. Pollack had been gutting waterlogged houses for two days to help restore hope to his community. Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said the men have been identified as 58-year-old Robert Vance of Lexington, Kentucky, and 53-year-old Ricky McDonald of Chesapeake, Ohio. “They don’t need to be sitting in flooded areas for 12 days”.

“When you go to bed at night, you know you’ve made a difference in someone else’s life and that’s satisfying”, said Nye, an 80 year old Red Cross volunteer for 16 years.

Haley met on Friday with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who traveled to Columbia and Charleston to take stock of the flooding response and recovery efforts. Saracina said the floodwaters seem to be going down.

She said the disaster “could be any amount of dollars”.

South Carolina officials say the foundations under a few bridges on Interstate 95 have washed out, and they can’t say when a 13-mile stretch of one of the most important highways on the East Coast will be open.

But just because the Lowcountry didn’t have any fatalities, doesn’t mean area residents weren’t caught off-guard. The truck, carrying five railroad workers, went down the road in early morning darkness.

“These barricades and signs are up for a reason”, he said. Moisture is trapped in his peanuts, creating mold and other toxins that make them unfit for humans and animals to eat.

He said people who ignore or move barricades can be charged with a crime.

Major Michael Nunn, general counsel for the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, said his county has had the same problem. We’re seeing a few tempers flare up. “Moving a barricade, defacing a barricade, driving around a barricade can be a criminal offense”.