Fresh rainfall is pelting South Carolina again on Monday – a day after an unprecedented deluge caused rampant flooding across the Palmetto State (especially in downtown Columbia, S.C.).
That’s causing serious problems for areas already ravaged by record rainfall.
“Reports of worsening conditions in the Lowcountry, counties east of the Midlands,” the S.C. Emergency Management Division (SCEMD) tweeted Monday morning.
And more rain is on the way …
At least six people are confirmed dead due to “Floodmageddon” – which saw dams collapse, interstates shut down and entire neighborhoods submerged by storm water.
Among those who lost their lives? Alex Holmes, a recent University of South Carolina graduate who drowned in her car after being trapped by rising floodwaters.
The flooding also caused a series of water main breaks in Columbia’s dilapidated water system – prompting officials to issue a system-wide boil water advisory for 375,000 people.
The advisory is likely to remain in place for up to four days.
Meanwhile 22,000 South Carolinians were without power – and curfews were imposed by municipal governments all across the state.
State leaders – especially S.C. governor Nikki Haley – were criticized for their failure to properly deploy resources and manpower in advance of the storm.
Haley in particular was criticized for waiting to mobilize the S.C. National Guard until flooding was so severe that the troops could not get to where they were needed.
Several state lawmakers are already comparing Haley’s handling of the disaster to former S.C. governor Jim Hodges‘ botched evacuation of the Lowcountry during Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
27 comments
wonder how long before Haley is begging for some of those evil federal $$$ to bail her out?
About an hour.
I’m guessing she’s already done it.
Dose that come automatically when you declare a disaster ? Don’t know, just asking. Seems one would lead to the other.
She asked her sister to do it, and Graham agreed.
When Obama shows up to do the obligatory POTUS survey of the damage, will Hayley snub him? If not, will she try to keep the press from shooting pix? Or will she mainly scowl at him the whole time, so as not to be pilloried by the GOP for “fraternizing with the enemy”, the way Governor Christie was, after Super-storm Sandy?
Making such decisions must be really tough for her. Even tougher than choosing to go to a football game she told everyone else to stay away from, as a pampered “VIP” special guest.
or will she “fail to mention” the hundreds of millions in federal dollars she will request / accept to repair the infrastructure? What about all the free money she will handout to those living in low lying areas who could not be troubled to carry flood insurance? Where will all the “up by the bootstrap” republicans be then?
There are times when even the most independent person needs a hand up , not a hand out. If this mess doesn’t qualify, nothing will.
So, are you saying that the government should only give loans that they will require to be paid back? If they give them $$$ and don’t require any of it to be paid back is that the very definition of a handout?
Christie calling on line 3 …….
Mayor Shitwater’s whore water lawyer (MT.LLC) needs to refund every tax payer dollar she was paid, and beg for forgiveness from every person in Columbia with no drinking water, but plenty of sewage in their homes.
Mayor Shitwater. Thanks I needed a good laugh.
Wonder if any of this will make people think twice about living in low areas or below man made lakes, ponds and diverted waterways.
that is the second part of the hit these victims are gonna have to deal with, getting insurance now is gonna be a real problem and i’m sure the value of their homes is really gonna tank
the ironic part is a good portion of these people spent the last 10 years or so railing against gov services for the poor…but now that “they” need something they fully expect the big bad gubamint to make the whole.
Big fat juicy gubermit titties. You betcha. It’s weren’t never about the cost of entitlements. It was any risk to “their” entitlements.
There is an enormous difference between (1) someone who has their house completely submerged during a single event (i.e. 1000-year flood) and (2) someone receiving unemployment for 52 weeks straight because they are holding out for a higher paying job, or, watching someone use EBT to purchase 10 twenty ounce Energy drinks from a gas station, with a 100% markup compared to a local grocery store.
Life is about choices, if you chose to live in a low-lying area near a waterway or below a dam and did not have flood insurance why should I have to pay for your bad decision?
Don’t infer positions that I did not take.
That said, it really isn’t practical, or logical, for one to purchase flood insurance when you don’t live in a flood plain (either A or B).
Would you purchase boater’s insurance if you didn’t own a boat?
Don’t worry, I”m sure Graham and Scott will get an extension to the National Flood Insurance program and a nice fat subsidy for SC residents.
Flood Insurance is still prohibitively expensive for most people, so extending the program wouldn’t help many.
If you gots a mortgage and it’s required, you gotta have it. And I suspect they’ze gonna be redrawn them flood zones now.
Prohibitively expensive?? I live 4 miles from the ocean and mine is $450/year.
Yes there are always victims but many are because of their own stupidity.
I can only imagine the pain that the family of Alex Homes is experiencing. God be with them…
I see Mayor Shitwater on TV wanting credit for 3 days of no sleep. Sorry pal, a Mayor with three days no sleep is no good to anybody, and probably a threat to Public Safety. Shut up your song about how great Columbia is. That’s all gone now. Go get some sleep. When you wake up, think Haiti. And the current Haiti Aftermath. That’s what you got now Pal…
It wasn’t that great before the flood.