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South Carolina governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Thursday afternoon in response to widespread flash flooding in the eastern Midlands region of the Palmetto State – and portions of the Lowcountry.
“Team South Carolina has been responding to the impacts of flooding and subsequent road closures in portions of the state throughout the day,” McMaster said in a statement accompanying his declaration. “The state of emergency will ensure that our response teams have every tool at their disposal to continue their efforts.”
According to the declaration (.pdf), interactions between a “front stalled across the southeastern region of the United States (and) deep tropical moisture” resulted in periods of “substantial and sustained rainfall” in certain areas of South Carolina.
Some areas saw upwards of fifteen inches of rain – causing numerous dam failures and road washouts.
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14”+ of rain yesterday and overnight is why US178 at Bull Swamp outside of North no longer exists along with other roads.
— ? Chris Jackson ? (@ChrisJacksonSC) November 7, 2024
Jeeez. https://t.co/PbYCVHHIqy pic.twitter.com/GZEOQEuL3z
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This rainfall – and subsequent dam failures – helped create record-setting flooding in Orangeburg, S.C., where the north fork of the Edisto River reached an all-time high of 15.34 feet late Thursday. That eclipsed a record set back in 1928 as well as levels seen during 2015’s ‘Floodmaggedon.’
The river flooding was caused by “a foot of rain and several small dam failures within the North Fork Edisto Basin,” according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
“Catastrophic flooding in downtown Orangeburg,” tropical weather tracker Mike Gagliardi noted. “The North Fork River has reached near historic levels and is flooding numerous homes and businesses.”
The impact on infrastructure in the area was also significant, according to the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT).
“There are more than 35 roads in Orangeburg and Calhoun counties that are closed due to flooding or damage from flooding,” SCDOT officials noted on Thursday afternoon. “Please avoid driving through the impacted areas, especially after dark. You should never drive through a flooded roadway or around a barricade.”
Count on FITSNews to keep our audience in the loop on recovery efforts as well as any new weather-related developments impacting the Palmetto State…
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THE ORDER…
(S.C. Governor)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
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2 comments
Just got off of the phone with a friend who lives in the area. He was telling of places where water was well over bridges, yet DOT and local FD’s were watching as cars, trucks, and even 18 wheelers, crossed it. He said it was as if they were watching to see if it collapsed under the weight of those vehicles.
Observer that does not surprise me one bit.