SC governor declares state of emergency ahead of expected floods from tropical storm
Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency for South Carolina on Sunday as the state braces for potentially torrential rain associated with Tropical Storm Debby.
The storm was strengthening Sunday off the coast of Florida, and officials with the National Weather Service and the state Emergency Management Division have warned of potentially excessive flooding in parts of South Carolina in the next week.
“Team South Carolina is closely monitoring Tropical Storm Debby and has begun preparing for its potential impact on our state,” McMaster said in a statement. “With a potentially significant rainfall event forecast for the next few days, it is critical that residents in potentially affected areas start making preparations and plans today — in case it is necessary to take quick action.”
A release from the governor’s office said the storm “is expected to slow down and begin impacting South Carolina early this week, with heavy rainfall resulting in life-threatening flash, urban, and river flooding.”
The National Weather Service said in a briefing early Sunday that tropical moisture from Debby, with a stalled front across South Carolina, could bring possible flash flooding to the Palmetto State starting Monday.
The NWS said that major flooding is possible Tuesday in large swaths of the state, particularly south of Interstate 20, where there is a risk of excessive rainfall.
Large parts of the Midlands have the potential for major flooding rain Tuesday and Tuesday night, a graph from the weather service showed. Meanwhile, a pocket of the Lowcountry, including Charleston, is under the threat of extreme flooding rain Tuesday and Tuesday night.
The city of Charleston said in a Saturday news release it is prepping for “rare and dangerous levels of flooding,” adding that Debby is “expected to produce very significant and rare flooding impacts across the city.” The Charleston release noted Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as particular days of concern in terms of weather.
In a post shared to social media site X on Sunday afternoon, the SC Emergency Management Division said that “potentially historic rainfall amounts will bring widespread life-threatening flooding to parts of SC” as a result of the storm, with the possibility of as much as 30 inches of rain along the state’s southern coast Monday through Friday.
The NWS briefing noted that the five-day rain totals from Sunday through Thursday in South Carolina are “expected to lead to widespread flash flooding as soils are saturated across much of the forecast area.”
In the Lowcountry’s Dorchester County, officials warned residents in a Sunday news release to avoid driving or walking in floodwaters that could come this week. Dorchester County began sandbag distribution at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Sandy Pines Convenience Site at 374 Sandy Pines Lane in Dorchester, and at the Dorchester County Health and Human Services Center at 1452 Boone Hill Road in Summerville. Sandbag distribution also was going on Sunday morning on the Isle of Palms, near Charleston.
This story was originally published August 4, 2024 at 8:27 AM with the headline "SC governor declares state of emergency ahead of expected floods from tropical storm."
