Flooding will be a major concern for parts of South Carolina, possibly during and after Hurricane Florence makes landfall. The town of Nichols, in Marion county, experienced severe flooding in 2016 during the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Disaster Recovery Coordinator Michaela Hufford shares what the town is doing to prepare for Hurricane Florence.
"Everyone, rightfully so, is nervous about it. It is a really big storm and a lot of newscasters are comparing it to Hugo," Hufford said.
Nichols is a very small town located just eight miles south of the North Carolina border. In 2016, Hurricane matthew dumped over 20 inches of rain in North Carolina. The swollen Lumber river eventually caused massive flooding in Nichols and other areas throughout South Carolina's Pee Dee region.
RELATED: (2016) Nichols Resident Shares Evacuation Experience
Before the flood in 2016, there were 260 homes and 22 businesses in Nichols. After flooding, all but three of the those residences sustained damage. Eight months after the disaster, about 200 homes remained empty and, at that time, only six businesses had re-opened.
RELATED: Nichols, One Year Later
During Gov. McMaster's 2:30 PM press conference Wednesday, he again warned of major flooding that could happen in low-lying areas of the state.
"There's going to be a lot of heavy rain with the hurricane. This hurricane is bringing some rain and water that we have not seenbefore, in hurricanes," the governor said.
Scott Harder is a senior hydrologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. He explains how water from North Carolina impacts river systems, and those living along them, in South Carolina.