Hundreds rescued from South Carolina floods
Columbia, S.C. — Hundreds were rescued from fast-moving floodwaters Sunday in South Carolina as days of driving rain hit a dangerous crescendo that buckled buildings and roads, closed a major East Coast interstate route and threatened the drinking water supply for the capital city.
The powerful rainstorm dumped more than a foot of rain overnight on Columbia, swamping hundreds of businesses and homes. Emergency workers waded into waist-deep water to help people trapped in cars, dozens of boats fanned out to rescue people in flooded neighborhoods and some were plucked from rooftops by helicopters.
Several interstates around Columbia were closed, and so was a 75-mile stretch of Interstate 95 that is a key route connecting Miami to Washington, D.C., and New York.
“This is different than a hurricane because it is water, it is slow moving and it is sitting. We can’t just move the water out,” Gov. Nikki Haley said at a news conference.
One death was reported in the area on Sunday, bringing weather-related deaths to seven since the storm began days earlier.
People were told to stay off roads and remain indoors until floodwaters recede, and a curfew was issued for Columbia and across two surrounding counties. The capital city told all 375,000 of its water customers to boil water before drinking because of water line breaks and the threat of rising water to a treatment plant. Nearly 30,000 customers were without power at one point.
State forecasters said another 2-6 inches could fall around the state, and it could be Tuesday before skies are sunny. The rainstorm around the Southeast has drawn tropical moisture from offshore that’s linked up with an area of low pressure and a slow-moving front.
Local officials counted several hundred water rescues by mid-morning before Columbia Fire Chief Aubry Jenkins said in an interview that there were too many rescues to keep count.
“We’re just trying to get to everyone,” Jenkins said.
Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said he’s never seen flooding as bad in his 40 years as mayor.
“I feel very fortunate that we were able to get through this as well as we have,” Riley said
At least seven weather-related deaths have been reported since rains began spreading over the Eastern Seaboard, which appeared to dodge the full brunt of Hurricane Joaquin as it veers out to sea.
The latest death reported was a woman killed when her SUV was swept into flood waters in Columbia. Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said the woman’s body was found Sunday afternoon, about 12 hours after she disappeared in flood waters near downtown Columbia.