Rivers may keep rising in SC from slow-moving storm for another week • SC Daily Gazette

COLUMBIA — There may be a pause in the rain from Tropical Storm Debby, but Gov. Henry McMaster reminded South Carolinians the danger is far from over.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there were still no reports of fatalities or injuries from the storm, officials said.

“Things have not been as bad as they could have been, although we’ve had a lot of rain,” McMaster said a public storm briefing at the South Carolina Emergency Operations Center in Columbia.

“One way to look at this is we are in the second act of a three-act play.”

The first act came Tuesday as the storm dumped rain on the Lowcountry as it headed to the Atlantic Ocean. The second act will come as the storm returns ashore Thursday morning between Charleston and Myrtle Beach and moves through the Pee Dee, bringing 3 to 8 more inches of rain to much of the state.

Then as the storm heads north, all the water it dumps in North Carolina will flow downstream to rivers in South Carolina that could already be overflowing. 

“Help your neighbors, look out for your neighbors,” McMaster said. “We know there will be a lot of cleanup to do and we’ve got to be very safe, because this is not nearly over.”

Some rivers may keep rising until the middle of next week. Those of particular concern for flooding include the Little Pee Dee River near Galivants Ferry in Horry County and the Edisto River near Givhans Ferry in Dorchester County, said John Quagliariello, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

At least three suspected tornadoes reported Tuesday have been confirmed, he said.

Those touched down on Edisto Beach, Kiawah Island and Moncks Corner. There are unconfirmed reports of another tornado at Edisto Beach along with Isle of Palms, West Ashley and Lady’s Island, Quagliariello said.

More than 6 homes have been damaged, with one destroyed, mostly in Colleton County. At least six businesses in Colleton, Berkeley and Horry counties also had some level of damage, said Kim Stenson, director of the South Carolina Emergency Management Division.

As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, 83 roads were closed, said Transportation Secretary Justin Powell, who noted that 25 roads that were closed due to the storm have been reopened. 

Two ramps to Interstate 95 at Exit 22 and Exit 33 in Jasper County are open again after being closed by flooding. A ramp off Interstate 526 at Exit 15 in North Charleston also closed Tuesday afternoon, but it was open again by 7 p.m., according to the Department of Transportation. 

As of late afternoon Wednesday, the stretch of coastal South Carolina north of Folly Beach was still expecting a storm surge of up to 3 feet, according to the National Hurricane Center. 

As of 11 a.m., Summerville, outside of Charleston, has experienced the most rain at over 17 inches since Saturday, according to a National Weather Prediction Center report. Edisto Beach, Beaufort, Mount Pleasant and Charleston all had upwards of 13 inches of rain. 

Around 5 p.m. Wednesday, there were roughly 1,500 Dominion Energy customers with power outages, while Santee Cooper had less than five. Duke reported some outages in the counties that it serves. None impacted more than 50 customers with the exception of 67 customers in Greenville.

The City of Charleston ended a curfew Wednesday morning that had begun Monday night.

Several school districts in the Lowcountry had school closures on Wednesday, and a number of districts through the Midlands and Pee Dee had e-learning days, according to the state Department of Education.