Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday declared a state of emergency for portions of the Midlands and Lowcountry after several inches of rain flooded roads, causing damage.
"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. "The state of emergency will ensure that our response teams have every tool at their disposal to continue their efforts."
Between 7 and 10 inches of rain dropped on parts of South Carolina after a weather front stalled over the Southeast starting Wednesday, resulting in long periods of rainfall.
Some areas of the Midlands reported up to 15 inches of rain, the governor's office said.
The flood water is finally starting to recede in Orangeburg after setting an all time record flood level late Thursday of 15.34'. Over a foot of rain and several small dam failures within the North Fork Edisto Basin pushed the river above the 1928 record and the 2015 flooding. pic.twitter.com/BqcCW6D73p
— NWS Columbia (@NWSColumbia) November 8, 2024
The governor's office said river flooding is likely along portions of the Edisto River into next week, though the state is not set to get significant rainfall over the next few days.
More than 35 roads in Calhoun and Orangeburg counties were damaged because of the heavy rainfall, the S.C. Department of Transportation said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"As the waters recede, SCDOT crews will assess the damaged areas and prepare to make repairs as quickly as possible," DOT said.
The DOT and law enforcement have urged people not to drive through flooded waters.
This is the reason why we preach DO NOT DRIVE AROUND THE BARRICADES ‼️‼️
— Trooper Brittany SCHP (@SCHP_Troop7) November 8, 2024
A diver with Cannan Fire Department ending up having to dive to search for people that drove around the barricade .
Luckily they were not hurt in this incident. pic.twitter.com/QMD5LJy05e
