1000 year Flood - South Carolina continues to be hit with catastrophic flooding

• published: 05 Oct 2015
• views: 74949

Hurricane Joaquin used Gulf Coast Moisture & The Atlantic Moisture to flood South Carolina and parts of the East USA Coast unlike we've ever seen in modern history. Strange days, indeed. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Prayers and love to all the people affected by these floods. God Bless everyone, T @newTHOR on Twitter https://www.facebook.com/thornewsgo http://www.weather.com/safety/floods/news/south-carolina-flooding-impacts-0 Although the rain is finally beginning to stop, South Carolina's residents have been warned that the historic event is far from over. "Catastrophic flooding continues," wrote the National Weather Service's Charleston office in a Monday morning forecast discussion. Making matters worse, a wind advisory has been issued for some parts of the Palmetto State, and with all this saturated ground, there's a big fear that trees will blow over, adding another threat for pedestrians and drivers. The 1,000-year rain event has set records all over the state, flooding entire towns. At least six people have died from the floods in South Carolina since the rain began to fall days ago. The rain hasn't subsided everywhere yet. In northeastern South Carolina, where areas like Myrtle Beach experienced severe flooding on Sunday, heavy rainfall continued Monday, and officials warned life-threatening impacts would persist into the week. "The flooding is unprecedented and historical," said Dr. Marshall Shepherd, a meteorologist and director of the atmospheric sciences program at the University of Georgia, in an email to The Associated Press. The University of South Carolina announced Monday classes will be canceled due to the floods. Parts of Columbia, including the USC campus, lost water service, and plans were being made to deliver bottled water and portable restrooms to the students Monday morning. City officials have released a statement issuing a boil water advisory to all 375,000 of its water customers, advising them to vigorously boil their water for a full minute at the least. Any ice made from water that was not boiled beforehand should also not be used. Swift-water rescue teams plucked hundreds of residents from stranded cars and flooded homes all over the state. "Move to higher ground now. This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation," wrote the National Weather Service's Charleston office in a Sunday morning flash flood statement. Officials claim it may take weeks or months to assess all of the closed roads and bridges, including a 75-mile stretch of I-95, the freeway that connects Miami to Washington, D.C. to New York. Hundreds of roads remain closed Monday across the state; the South Carolina Department of Transportation has a full list here. http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/tropical-storm-joaquin-east-coast-track-heavy-rain-deluge-flash-flooding-atlantic/52672710 An intense band of heavy rainfall will continue across South Carolina and far southeastern North Carolina through Monday, worsening the already historic flooding that is underway. In eastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina, totals will range from 12 to 24 inches, nearly half of the normal rainfall for an entire year in some areas. "With records being broken for both rainfall and creek levels, it is easy to see why flood waters are inundating so many roads and communities," stated AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski, "and unfortunately, more rain will only worsen the life-threatening situation into Heavy rainfall began across much of the East Coast on Thursday. While a good portion of the East Coast has had the heavy rain taper to showers or even drizzle, a band of heavy rain continues to sit over South Carolina and far southeastern North Carolina. Even though Hurricane Joaquin is tracking away from the United States, the torrential rainfall developed due to a combination of tropical moisture and a non-tropical system. Lives and property will be severely threatened where the heavy rain hits the same areas for several hours. An additional 3 to 6 inches of rain will fall in northeastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina through Monday. Locally higher amounts are possible in areas where the heavy rain band sits for a long duration of time. Rainfall rates could reach 1 and 2 inches of rain per hour. According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Michael Doll, "Storm drains will be unable to keep up with the extreme rainfall rates and entire towns will become lakes." Flood waters threaten to enter more homes and businesses, as well as submerge vehicles. Motorists who venture out amid the flooding and torrential rain run the risk of getting stranded or could put their lives in danger as more roads will go under water. Hundreds of swift water rescues have been performed since Saturday night, according to the South Carolina Emergency Management Division.