South Carolina rain: 1.2 million gallons per person

[Previous story, posted at 1:16 p.m. ET]. They were hoisted and taken to Mt. Pleasant Regional Airport and are in good condition with no injuries. Motorists headed downtown or to Mount Pleasant from James and Johns islands are also encouraged to take the Highway 30 connector. The district has 48,000 students and 84 schools.

Construction/Demolition material – Carpet, drywall, furniture, lumber, mattresses, plumbing materials, shingles and tiles.

Wendy Dixon weeps as she leaves her flood-damaged apartment… MPW will begin the clean-up from overflows and testing of nearby waters for contamination.

“This is different than a hurricane because it is water, it is slow moving and it is sitting”.

Authorities are telling people living near a weakened dam in the Columbia area to leave immediately.

“We have vulnerable ones that we’ll be watching today and through the next 36 hours”, Haley said.

Highway 17 and Highway 41 are expected to close as a result of the flooding.

“Now I’m basically going to have to start over with four kids”, said Lewis, 28, who grew up in the same three-bedroom apartment in Summerton, a tiny town southeast of Columbia. “When we have floods of this magnitude, it’s really incredible that we have not had more”.

A boil water advisory remains in effect for most of the area, and authorities have been distributing bottled water. City water system supervisor Clint Shealy said Tuesday that is a normal volume for this time of year.

The Columbia Canal was built in the early 1800s and provides 35 million gallons per day to the city’s water plant. “Well, there’s just so much of it, so much volume”, Thacker said. Moderate flooding was reported in that area. And many people often make daily trips to their local grocery stores to stock up on water.

Associated Press writers Jeffery Collins and Susanne M. Schafer in Columbia, South Carolina; in Columbia; Emery P. Dalesio in Effingham; and Meg Kinnard in Blythewood, South Carolina, contributed.

Sharon Cahill looks over her pool house after the floodwaters… About 6 feet of water covers the road through the community now accessible only by boat.

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.

If the home’s structure survives the water, Sweat still expects mold to quickly grow on the cabinets and the floors while the Edisto slowly recedes. “We don’t know how long we are going to be here”.

The Waccamaw was expected to crest at 5 feet above flood stage in Conway, in Horry County, on Thursday. More victims could be found as emergency workers search door to door and check cars swept away by the flood waters. “And I think it’s the human thing to do”.

During a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Gov. Haley said the state is monitoring 62 of South Carolina’s thousands of dams.

“Your heart is heavy”, Spiller said. “But this is your life”. They are at Mill Creek, in West Columbia and at the Saluda River.

The school says it’s following closing determinations set by Richland County, where government offices are also reopening Wednesday. “That’s what the sheriff, fire, EMS and the county supervisor are preparing for”. South Carolina Electric and Gas said less than 1,000 residents were without power early Tuesday morning. Unfortunately we had 13 that failed.

Overall, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has said there could be a potential billion-dollar cleanup bill.

Saturday’s college football game between South Carolina and Louisiana State – which was to be played in Columbia – has been relocated to LSU’s home field in Baton Rouge, the University of South Carolina athletics department said in a statement Wednesday.

Meanwhile, there’s still a threat of more flooding, especially downstream as the floodwaters head toward the Atlantic.

The city’s efforts to fix the canal, which is one of the city’s largest supplies of water for the entire system, suffered a setback Wednesday when part of a temporary fix dam collapsed.

Improved weather has meant a few relief, but for low-lying parts of state like the coastal city of Columbia, flood waters have continued to rise.

The states of North and South Carolina have been particularly hard hit, but the driving rain in recent days has spared nearly none of the US East Coast. How soon the bridges are cleared and the interstate opens fully then depends on what inspectors find.

Dam failures were a constant concern for thousands of residents, days after the rain ended. The same was true for any national perspective, American Trucking Association spokesman Sean McNally said.

Haley again pleaded with motorists not to ignore the barricades. Highs will be around 80 with lows in the upper 60s and winds up to 10 miles per hour. That is forcing creative decisions on what to do next, said Jerry Smith, general manager of Associated Petroleum Carriers in Spartanburg. “You’re looking at a massive amount of road closures and bridges”. A 20 percent chance of precipitation could bring between a quarter and a half inch of rain, according to the Weather Service.