Carolinas see some sun, but ordeal far from over

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C.

The Carolinas saw sunshine Tuesday after days of inundation, but it could take weeks to recover from being pummeled by a historic rainstorm that caused widespread flooding and 17 deaths.

Tuesday was the first completely dry day in Columbia since Sept. 24, but officials warned that new evacuations could be ordered as the huge mass of water flows toward the sea, threatening dams and displacing residents along the way.

“God smiled on South Carolina because the sun is out. That is a good sign, but ... we still have to be cautious,” Gov. Nikki Haley said Tuesday after taking an aerial tour. “What I saw was disturbing.”

“We are going to be extremely careful. We are watching this minute by minute,” she said.

At least 15 weather-related deaths in South Carolina and two in North Carolina were blamed on the vast rainstorm. Six people drowned in their cars in Columbia alone, and several died after driving around safety barriers onto flooded roads.

Flooding is a concern wherever concrete covers soil that would otherwise act as a sponge in heavy rain. The multitude of waterways in the Midlands area – where the Broad and Saluda rivers come together to form the Congaree – made the state capital even more vulnerable.

Now officials are looking with concern to the Lowcountry, where several other rivers make their way to the sea, including the Santee and Edisto. Haley warned evacuations may be needed in several counties toward the coast, and noted that several rivers rising downstream of Columbia worried officials.

“We are seeing some stage of flooding with all of them,” she said, adding that none have crested.