Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Ongoing concerns with rising river waters and several large South Carolina rivers

Parts of the Midlands and the PeeDee continue to experience river flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. And local law enforcement are asking people to continue to avoid the larger rivers in these areas, especially in and around the Columbia area including the Broad, Saluda and Congaree Rivers as water levels remain high.

The National Weather Service is also warning people who live north of Charleston of a flooding risk from the Santee River this weekend. The NWS says there is substantial flooding in the Santee River near Jamestown.

That would affect people around Bonneau and other parts of Berkeley County as well as portions of Georgetown and Charleston Counties as far away as McClellanville. It includes much of the Francis Marion National Forest.

The Santee River was at 21.4 feet early Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.. It is expected to crest at 23.8 feet early Saturday morning. At 24 feet, water could begin flooding nearby homes.

The last time we saw the river this high was during the historic flooding of 2015, when the Congaree River crested at 31.8 feet.

The Richland County Sheriff's Department says the waters in rivers near Columbia, Cayce and West Columbia are at some of the highest levels ever seen, according to officials.

Boat ramps into these rivers have been closed by the Sheriff’s office to try and keep everyone safe as we head into the weekend.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has a map of all flood zone designations that can be searched using this website; FEMA Website

There is also an instructional on the website for how to read the map. The most hazardous flood zones begin with the letters A and V, shown in the map below.

According to FEMA, just one inch of flooding can cause as much as $25,000 of damage to your home.

Tags