South Carolina braces for more flooding – Missing people found

(Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP) LOCAL PRINT OUT (MYRTLE BEACH HERALD OUT, HORRY INDEPENDENT OUT, CAROLINA FOREST CHRONICLE, GEORGETOWN TIMES OUT); MANDATORY CREDIT. Despite an improving forecast, it will still take weeks for the st…

Officials are warning people in South Carolina to be alert for those who say they are working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and do not have proper FEMA credentials.

Rivers rose and dams bulged as storm water from days of heavy rains made its way to the Atlantic Ocean, causing a second round of flooding downstream.

Andy Shain, who is covering the flooding for The State newspaper in Columbia, told Here & Now that there was as much rain on Sunday as in the previous three months combined. About 1,000 residents near the compromised Beaver Dam were told to evacuate Wednesday morning.

In coastal Georgetown, one of America’s oldest cities, Scott Youngblood put more sandbags by the door of the Augustus & Carolina furniture store on Front Street, the popular tourist attraction that runs along the Sampit River.

In two of the most recent storm-related deaths, sheriff’s deputies said a pickup driver went around a barricade where a road had been closed, and the pickup plunged into the water at a 20-foot gap where the pavement had washed out. Residents are concerned there may be more flooding on the Black and Waccamaw rivers – two waterways cited as worrisome by Governor Nikki Haley. The Black River crested 10 feet above flood stage on Tuesday at Kingstree, breaking a town record. “Things are about to get worse on the coast”.

“This is the fourth dumpster we filled”, said Vince Hood, 60. “We had so much rain but the primary thing we were experiencing was the water table coming up through the bottom bubbling up from beneath the flooring”. “Until the waters fully recede and homeowners and businesses can take a complete assessment of the damage, we won’t know for sure the ultimate price tag”.

“We’re holding our breath and saying a prayer”, she said.

Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrok is asking people to stay out of damaged areas They say onlookers are blocking emergency crews that are trying to help, and there’s even been cases of tempers flaring between victims and these people. “This flooding is going to get bad. and it’s going to sit for a very long time”. “We’re here supporting the governor”.

Haley called the damage “disturbing” and said both state and federal officials were assessing the extent of the loss, as members of the National Guard were assisting with sandbagging and other operations to mitigate the situation. South Carolina Electric and Gas said less than 1,000 residents were without power early Tuesday morning.

At a news conference, Haley and other officials were asked repeatedly about whether the state had spent enough in previous years to maintain dams and other infrastructure.

Overall, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has said there could be a potential billion-dollar cleanup bill. He criticized the federal government’s aid package to the Northeast following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, calling it a “pork-laden monstrosity”.

In South Carolina, seven people drowned and four died in traffic accidents, the state’s department of public safety said. Skies have since cleared but authorities say the flood threat remains in areas near rain-swollen rivers near the coast. In the region around Columbia, as many as 40,000 homes lacked water, although a few service was restored Tuesday.

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome). State police block a section of I-95 south at S.C. highway 527 near Sumter, S.C., Wednesday, October 7, 2015 as road and bridge closures continue to cause transportation problems following flooding in many parts of the state.

Alpert says UofSCRelief has remained in contact with the city of Columbia to ensure that students are sent to safe work sites. “And today it happened to be high water”.