Gov. Haley in Dorchester County: If you’re told to evacuate, do it

Georgetown County spokesperson Jackie Broach a boat and possibly a fire truck will be moving through the area at regular intervals to assist people in evacuation and will transport them to a nearby school.

Predictions of bright skies in arrival days provided only minimal peace of mind.

Nikki Haley is urging residents of Georgetown and other coastal areas to evacuate ahead of flooding that is expected as storm water flows down swollen rivers toward the coast. “Don’t allow weather decieve a person”. Already, road crews have shut down Highway 151 and 261.

Haley said the state is recovering from a disaster and preparing for another one. Helicopters dropped in excess of 700 bags, weighing 3,000 pounds each, of rock and sand near the Columbia Canal, CBS News reports.

Since the rain started late last week, 1,200 people and animals across the state have been rescued. Fourteen dams have failed and officials are watching another 70 to make sure they do not add to that number. The National Weather Service said that the Santee River, now at 18.36 feet, could rise to 23 feet (13 feet above flood stage) by Saturday.

As of Thursday, 38 boil water advisories were in effect. In addition, 16 counties have been declared as disaster areas.

Haley did not mince words Thursday afternoon as she laid out the work before emergency responders focusing on three areas of grave concern: Georgetown and Pawleys Island, Givhans Ferry, and Jamestown. The department is now estimating the storm caused about $300 million in direct crop losses; the exact amount will be finalized after the harvest season.

Also emergency officials took the podium and said there have not been any deaths in Dorchester County on Thursday due to the flooding.

“South Carolina may be bruised, but we are not broken”. The action taken Monday made federal funding available to people in eight counties.

“For those of you that have lost anything, I am extremely sorry that you are going through this”, Haley said.

During her tour of the affected areas of Kingstree and Givhans Ferry, she said “what we saw was devastating”.

The sun is out, she said, but the water is coming.