COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — (Click here to read Monday's flooding updates)
The latest on the rainstorm that pounded parts of the East Coast (all times local):
6:52 p.m. update
The South Carolina Department of Transportation said part of Interstate 95 has been reopened after flooding.
• The section of the detour south of the I-95 bridges over the Black and Pocotaglio Rivers: I-95 can be reopened at Exit 119 (SC 261). All south bound ramps will be opened to the south all the way to I-26.
• For the section of the detour north of the I-95 bridges, I-95 North from Exit 132 (SC 527) northbound and all northbound ramps can be opened all the way to I-20.
• For LOCAL TRAFIC ONLY: The following portions of I-95 may re-opened to local emergency agencies and vehicles carrying relief supplies:
• I-95 Northbound from Exit 90 (US 176) to Exit 119 (SC 261) in Manning for LOCAL TRAFFIC ONLY. I-95 will remain closed to all traffic at Exit 119.
• I-95 Southbound from Exit 157 (US 76) to Exit 132 (SC 527) for LOCAL TRAFFIC ONLY. I-95 will remain closed to all traffic at Exit 132
• Through traffic will continues to detour with Northbound traffic using I-26 west to I-77 north, to I-20 east, to I-95 north.
• Southbound through traffic will continue to use I-20 west, to I-77 south to 1-26 east to I-95 south.
SCDOT is actively evaluating I-95 for more re-openings. The review of the bridges over the Black and Pocotaglio Rivers was completed earlier Tuesday and cannot be re-opened at this time. An review will be conducted on Wednesday afternoon or early Thursday morning.
5:44 p.m. update
The South Carolina Department of Public Safety is reporting 15 total weather-related fatalities: nine drownings and six traffic deaths.
https://twitter.com/SCDPS_PIO/status/651513315055812608
How to Help SC:
Phone Numbers to volunteer:
- Charleston – 843-764-2323 x321
- Columbia – 803-508-5251
- Myrtle Beach – 843-764-2323 x321
- Upstate – 864-270-9575
Make a Donation:
Make a contribution to Salvation Army
[ Make a contribution to Samaritan's Purse ]
Make a contribution to American Red Cross Disaster Relief or at 1-800-REDCROSS
Red Cross Shelters in SC
United Methodist Committee on Relief
4:17 p.m. update
The community donated gallons of water to help communities flooded in South Carolina.
Harris Teeter donated 50,000 bottles to start.
Employees for the radio stations sponsoring the drive have worked constantly unloading and stacking cases of water.
Many developed a personal connection to the flooding victims.
Support quickly poured in. In the first three hours, they had more bottled watered water piled up in the parking lot than you would find in any store.
Nick Scoeppner brought $100 worth of water, enough to fill two shopping carts.
He was moved by the ugly irony facing so many people in Columbia, so much water everywhere, but nothing from the faucets in so many homes.
"People are supposed to boil their water and clean it, but they couldn't do that much because there is just no water running through their lines," Scoeppner said. "They have been kicked out of their houses or had to evacuate or been flooded out. I mean they really need something."
So many donors say they remember surviving hurricane Hugo.
They feeling of despair in a disaster came rushing back when they saw images from Columbia.
Julie Crawford recognized so many of those flooded streets. She used to working in Columbia.
"At first it's disbelief, then you are filled with a sense of dread," Crawford said.
The Greater Gaston Baptist Association has asked 110 churches to give money and prepare to send people to help.
"Our hearts go out to those folks cause it could have been us easily," Thane Kendall, associational missionary director said.
The Baptist association has people in South Carolina working to learn how others can help them best and support churches struggling to support their communities.
2:50 p.m.
South Carolina Emergency Management Division said the death toll in the South Carolina flooding remains at 14, despite reports that it has risen to 15.
2 p.m.
Authorities have released the name of a 15th person killed in flooding in South Carolina, bringing the death toll to 17 in two states.
Richland County Coroner Gary Watts on Tuesday said that the body of 30-year-old Sampson Pringle was recovered from a lake on Tuesday morning. Watts says there had been flooding in the area where Pringle's body was recovered.
Watts did not say how Pringle died.
Pringle's vehicle was found on Monday, and his family reported him missing.
12:20 p.m.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says she doesn't have a dollar amount right now for the damage done by the historic rains and flooding in the state.
Haley said Tuesday that officials are still assessing the damage and trying to get roads and bridges repaired.
"We're not going to stop until we need everything we need to get back up and running and fixed again," she said.
She said the disaster "could be any amount of dollars."
12:15 p.m.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley spoke Tuesday afternoon and confirmed that the death toll has risen to 14 people in the state. Haley said residents have been moving barriers and going into areas that are not safe.
She urged residents to respect the barriers and let officials access all the roads before traveling on them.
"This is going to hurt a little bit, but we've got you," Haley said.
SC DOT officials said they are assessing the bridges on Interstate 95 before reopening the interstate. Seventy-five miles of the interstate remain closed.
The University of South Carolina has canceled classes for the remainder of the week after the historic flooding. For students who choose to remain in Columbia, whether on campus or off, click here for information on how to remain comfortable and safe.
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12 p.m.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says God has smiled on the state in the form of sunshine, but she warns residents not to become complacent because several rivers have still not crested after the historic rains.
Haley said Tuesday that the state has officials on the ground in different areas watching and reporting about the water and rivers "minute by minute."
She says there could still be some evacuations along some coastal areas of the state over the next 48 hours.
The governor also says more than 800 people are currently staying in shelters.
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11:30 p.m.
State public safety officials say 16 people have been killed in a storm that dumped historic levels of rain on South Carolina.
The Department of Public Safety says that eight people have drowned in South Carolina and six people died in traffic accidents. Two other people were killed in North Carolina.
Six of the deaths were in Richland County, South Carolina, where many areas surrounding the capital city of Columbia have battled record water levels.
On Tuesday, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts identified a man found drowned in his car as an 82-year-old Richard Nelson Milroy of Columbia. Watts says Milroy was found dead in his car after 10 p.m. on Monday in a neighborhood north of downtown Columbia.
Public Safety says its officers have responded to more than 4,300 calls for service, including more than 1,800 collisions.
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10:45 a.m.
South Carolina Department of Public Service officials said 14 people have died in the aftermath of the storm that caused historic flooding. Eight of those victims drowned and six were traffic-related deaths.
Here is the county breakdown:
Weather-related fatalities involving drowning:
- 6 in Richland County
- 1 in Kershaw County
- 1 in Spartanburg County
Six weather-related traffic fatalities:
- 2 in Aiken County
- 2 in Greenville County
- 1 in Anderson County
- 1 in Horry County
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7:30 a.m.
Columbia, South Carolina, Mayor Steve Benjamin says he's proud of the way people in the flooded city are working together to help their neighbors.
Benjamin said he visited a shelter at A.C. Flora High School on Monday night and saw people who didn't know each other taking care of each other.
Benjamin says the city plans to expand the number of water distribution points Tuesday. As many as 40,000 homes have no water service, and those with service have been told to boil the water for at least one minute before using it for drinking or cooking.
Benjamin says that order is likely to be in effect for "quite some time."
He said the city is working to restore water service, a problem that has been complicated by a breach of a dam near a city water plant.
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7 a.m.
Authorities say another person has died in historic flooding that has inundated South Carolina's capital city.
Richland County authorities told local news outlets an 82-year-old man who had been missing was found dead in his vehicle Monday. Richland County Sheriff's Lt. Curtis Wilson says the man's car had been underwater in a residential area north of downtown Columbia.
The man's name hasn't been released. So far, the state Department of Public Safety says there have been 11 weather-related deaths in South Carolina. Two other deaths in North Carolina have been blamed on the storm.
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5:50 a.m.
Power has been restored to thousands of residents drying out after torrential rains and flooding throughout South Carolina.
South Carolina Electric and Gas says that less than 1,000 residents are without power early Tuesday. Duke Energy says only a handful of its customers are still waiting for electricity to come back on.
That's compared with more than 25,000 outages statewide Monday morning. That figure included about 6,000 outages among the state's electric cooperatives, and their updated figures had not yet been released Tuesday morning.
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5:40 a.m.
Hundreds of roads and bridges remain closed in South Carolina as engineers work to determine the safety of many thoroughfares after historic flooding.
The state Department of Transportation says nearly 500 roads and bridges are still closed Tuesday morning. Many of those are in the Columbia area, which registered record rainfall this week.
A 90-mile stretch of Interstate 95 is still closed between Interstates 20 and 26 due to flooding and overall poor road conditions.
Officials are warning residents not to try to drive through or around standing water and debris that have covered many roadways. There have been at least 10 deaths in South Carolina since the storms started last week, while there have been two storm-related deaths in North Carolina.
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5:15 a.m.
Officials across South Carolina are imploring people to donate water to residents in the state's flood-ravaged capital city area.
Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said in a news release overnight that his officers took 7,000 bottles of water to Lexington County on Monday, and they were all distributed in two hours.
He says his officers are accepting more donations until noon Tuesday and will take them down to the Columbia area.
Along South Carolina's southern coastline, the towns of Bluffton and Hilton Head Island are asking residents to drop off water donations at the Beaufort County Association of Realtors office.
And in Aiken, sheriff's deputies are seeking donations of bottled water and packaged supplies to send to first responders in the area.
Water has been shut off for many residents in the Columbia area due to multiple water main breaks in the wake of historic flooding. People who do still have water service are being asked to boil it for at least one minute before drinking or cooking.
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4:30 a.m.
South Carolina is expecting sunshine Tuesday after days of wet weather, but it will take weeks for things to return to normal from a historic rainstorm.
Even as the rain tapered off, officials warned of the likelihood of new evacuations. That was illustrated Monday afternoon when an evacuation was ordered in one of two towns east of downtown Columbia where two dams were breached.
Gov. Nikki Haley warned communities downstream that a mass of rainwater working its way toward the low-lying coast could cause more flooding and displace more residents.
At least 12 weather-related deaths in two states were blamed on the vast rainstorm, including those of five people who drowned in their cars in Columbia alone.
A solid week of rainfall also sent about 1,000 to shelters and left about 40,000 without drinkable water.
'Fire hose' of moisture slams South Carolina; 12 killed
People across South Carolina got an object lesson Monday in how you can dodge a hurricane and still get hammered.
Authorities struggled to get water to communities swamped by it, and with waterlogged dams overflowing, bridges collapsing, hundreds of roads inundated and floodwaters rolling down to the coast, the state was anything but done with this disaster.
"This is a Hugo-level event," said Maj. Gen. Robert Livingston, head of the South Carolina National Guard, referring to the September 1989 hurricane that devastated Charleston. "We didn't see this level of erosion in Hugo. ... This water doesn't fool around."
Much-feared Hurricane Joaquin missed the East Coast, but fueled what experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called a "fire hose" of tropical moisture that aimed directly at the state. A solid week of rainfall has killed at least 10 people in South Carolina and two in North Carolina, and sent about 1,000 to shelters. About 40,000 have been left without drinkable water.
One of the latest to die was McArthur Woods, 56, who drove around a barricade and drowned Sunday night. His passenger managed to climb on top of the sedan, which stalled in the rushing water. A firefighter rescued her after someone heard her screams.
"She came out the window. How she got on top of the car and stayed there like she did with that water— there's a good Lord," Kershaw County Coroner David West said.
By Monday, the heaviest rains had moved into the mid-Atlantic states. Along the Jersey Shore, some beaches devastated by Superstorm Sandy three years ago lost most of their sand to the wind, rain and high surf.
South Carolina authorities mostly switched Monday from search and rescue into "assessment and recovery mode," but Gov. Nikki Haley warned citizens to remain careful as a "wave" of water swelled downstream and dams had to be opened to prevent catastrophic failures above low-lying neighborhoods near the capital.
"South Carolina has gone through a storm of historic proportions," Haley said. "Just because the rain stops, does not mean that we are out of the woods."
Indeed, shortly after the governor's news conference, two dams in two separate towns east of downtown Columbia burst on Monday afternoon, forcing the evacuation of some neighborhoods.
James Shirer, who lives in the area, saw one of the dams, in the town of Forest Acres, fail and a 22-acre lake drain in 10 to 15 minutes.
"It just poured out," Shirer said.
The 16.6 inches of rain that fell at Gills Creek near downtown Columbia on Sunday made for one of the rainiest days recorded at a U.S. weather station in more than 16 years.
An Associated Press reporter surveying the scene by helicopter saw the entire eastern side of the capital city awash in floodwater. Neither trailer parks nor upscale neighborhoods were spared: One mansion's swimming pool was filled with a yellowish broth.
South Carolina is accustomed to water, but not like this.
The state hosts 30,000 miles of rivers and streams that mostly run from the Appalachians to the sea, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It also has another 24,000 miles of "perennial waterways" — streams that are usually dry but can turn deadly in flash floods. Now swollen by a week of rain, they have carved new channels through an aging infrastructure.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, 1,048 of the 9,275 bridges were structurally deficient before this storm. Some 550 roads and bridges remained closed Monday, including nearly 75 miles of Interstate 95. The governor said they will need close inspection to ensure they're safe.
Some towns were entirely cut off. About 60 miles southeast of the capital, all four roads leading into the county seat of Manning were closed, isolating 4,000 people. Many smaller communities in Clarendon County are in a similar predicament, Sheriff Randy Garrett said.
"I'm the sheriff of a bunch of islands," Garrett said.
The National Guard's Blackhawk helicopters were the best — and only — way to reach some places, and authorities were just starting to identify "vulnerable areas that may not be completely obvious," said Livingston, a two-star general.
The Blackhawk crew including Chief Warrant Officer 2 Antonio Montgomery finished its rescue training just in time for the storm, and quickly put it to use.
Some people waved towels at them, begging for rescues; Neighbors would then step out onto their porches, too, asking to be lifted to safety.
Montgomery, 34, served in Iraq 10 years ago, but there is something different about helping a place where his crew has lived, he said. "It's our home. We've all had friends and families who have lost things."
At a Red Cross shelter in Rowesville, Nyshambi Vega of Holly Hill, about 50 miles northwest of Charleston, settled onto a cot with her boys — ages 2, 1 and 5 months — and hoped for the best.
Like most of her neighbors in her public housing complex, the 24-year-old mother had hoped to ride out the storm. Then the water reached her front door, and the toilet backed up. They were rescued Sunday morning by firefighters who walked small boats through the parking lot.
Along with her boys, all she managed to carry with her was a bag stuffed with diapers and baby formula. The water came up to her chest, and she struggled to hold the baby over her head as she waded to the boat.
"His feet were dipping into the water as we tried to get into the boat, so it was scary and dangerous," Vega said Monday as the infant snoozed, content, in her lap.
Most of her neighbors got out with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, she said, "And the clothes we had on our backs were wet."
Safe water, however, was in short supply: In Columbia, officials brought in bottled water and portable restrooms for the 31,000 students at the University of South Carolina, and firefighters used a half-dozen trucks and pumps to ferry hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to Palmetto Health Baptist Hospital.
Bett Williams' family has lived below Rockyford Lake for nearly a half century; she said she had never seen flooding there before. But on Monday, she had only a few moments before fleeing with her 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son to a shelter at the nearby AC Flora High School.
"We grabbed our cellphone chargers and the dog," she said. "We still hope and pray it will be OK."
Despite sunny forecast, South Carolina ordeal far from over
South Carolina was expecting sunshine Tuesday after days of inundation, but it will still take weeks for the state to return to normal after being pummeled by a historic rainstorm.
Even as the rain tapered off, officials warned of the likelihood of new evacuations — such as one ordered Monday afternoon in one of two towns east of downtown Columbia where two dams were breached.
The governor warned communities downstream that a mass of water was working its way through waterways toward the low-lying coast — bringing the potential for more flooding and more displaced residents.
"This is not over. Just because the rain stops does not mean that we are out of the woods," Gov. Nikki Haley said Monday.
South Carolina's geography and poor spending on infrastructure left several town and cities like islands after roads washed out and creeks topped bridges.
One of those cut-off communities was Manning, the county seat of Clarendon County, about 60 miles southeast of Columbia.
"I fear the worst is to come. We have a power substation under water. No telling when that thing gets fixed," Clarendon County Sheriff Randy Garrett said.
At least 10 weather-related deaths in South Carolina and two in North Carolina were blamed on the vast rainstorm, including those of five people who drowned in their cars in Columbia alone. A solid week of rainfall also sent about 1,000 to shelters and left about 40,000 without drinkable water.
Much-feared Hurricane Joaquin missed the East Coast, but fueled what experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called a "fire hose" of tropical moisture that aimed directly at the state. By Monday, the heaviest rains had moved into the mid-Atlantic states, but not before making history in South Carolina.
The 16.6 inches of rain that fell at Gills Creek near downtown Columbia on Sunday made for one of the rainiest days recorded at a U.S. weather station in more than 16 years.
John Shelton of the U.S. Geological Survey says flooding can be a concern for any urban area, with an abundance of concrete covering soil that would otherwise act as a sponge for excessive rains.
But the multitude of waterways in Columbia also makes the city a prime target for flooding, as rainwater seeking to flow into a creek or river gets waylaid on the city's roadways.
"The fact is that we're getting six months' worth of rain in two days that's falling in an urbanized area," Shelton said. "This was kind of the perfect storm."
The governor has said the deluge is the kind of storm seen only once in 1,000 years. She said 550 roads and bridges were closed across the state. All will have to be checked for structural integrity, which could take weeks or longer.
Complicating the problem is that the infrastructure was already in bad shape in places. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, 1,048 of the 9,275 bridges were structurally deficient before this storm.
The flooding forced hundreds of weekend rescues and threatened the drinking water supply for Columbia, with officials warning some could be without potable water for days because of water main breaks. The capital city told all 375,000 of its water customers to boil water before drinking.
Officials brought in bottled water and portable restrooms for the 31,000 students at the University of South Carolina, and firefighters used a half-dozen trucks and pumps to ferry hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to Palmetto Health Baptist Hospital.
In another downstream area, Lake City, the flooding left a brown four-door sedan bobbing with its hood angled down at the road leading to Lake City High School, the site of a Red Cross shelter that housed more than 100 people Monday. Lisa Singletary, 34, trudged past the waterlogged car through water about 4 feet deep to reach the shelter after her sister's ground-floor apartment was inundated.
Singletary grabbed her three children, ages 1, 4 and 16, and her sister's three children, ages 9 to 18, and pushed through the grimy water after sunset Sunday, she said. She and her sister, Mary Singletary, then returned for everything they could carry.
"We had to really wade in the water. ... We had to hold the kids up from really getting wet and everything," said Singletary, who was visiting for the weekend from nearby Johnsonville.
The two women filled plastic trash bags with "toothpaste, toothbrush, wash cloths, towels, blankets, pillows, clothes, socks, shoes," Singletary said. "We brought everything that we could have brought."
Back in the Columbia area, James Shirer saw the dam along Rockyford Lake in the town of Forest Acres fail Monday, causing the 22-acre lake to drain in 10 to 15 minutes.
"It just poured out," Shirer said.
The lakes and ponds got so high, the dams couldn't take it anymore, Shirer said. Speaking of the rains, he said, "They've wrecked the dams; they've ruined all of the bridges. This one lake has already gone from topping over this bridge to where it's emptying out."
As he spoke, water rushed through where the dam once was and a military helicopter circled overhead.
"It's devastating for Columbia," he said. "It's one of the worst things we've seen."