Flooding from Tropical Storm Debby could be ‘catastrophic’ in SC, worse than 2015

Editor’s note: This article was updated following an evening media briefing on the storm. 

COLUMBIA — Gov. Henry McMaster said Monday evening he does not expect to issue any evacuation orders ahead of Tropical Storm Debby, but he stressed that South Carolinians should take the storm seriously and listen for any local orders.

“This is an animal that we don’t think we have seen before, so we must be very prepared,” he told reporters at the South Carolina Emergency Operations Center in Columbia, surrounded by state officials.

“We really don’t know what we’re facing yet, but we’ll know more soon, and we’ll act depending on what we see,” he said, answering a question about evacuations. “But so far, we don’t see a any need for that.”

He also doesn’t expect to order the closure of state buildings or agencies.

The storm could dump as much as 30 inches of rain in some areas of the Lowcountry through Friday evening, with 10-20 inches of rain possible from the coast to the Midlands, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“There’s potential for historic rainfall, which is likely to result in areas of catastrophic flash and urban flooding,” said John Quagliariello, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “Rainfall amounts could exceed what some locations have ever experienced in the past.” 

The storm hit Florida around 7 a.m. Monday as a Category 1 hurricane. The slow-moving storm will move into the Atlantic on Tuesday and linger off the South Carolina coast before coming back onshore late Thursday or early Friday around the border of South Carolina and North Carolina, he said. 

Winds from the storm could start hitting South Carolina’s southern tip on Tuesday morning. Tornadoes are possible along the coast through Tuesday.

The risk of flash flooding is high, at least 70%, along the entire coast of the state. The risk is moderate through the Midlands and slight to marginal in the Upstate.

The Hurricane Center also expects storm surge of up to 4 feet along the Georgia and South Carolina coast, reaching all the way to southern North Carolina.

The flooding in some areas could be worse than what happened in 2015. That so-called “thousand-year” storm, dubbed that because of its one-in-a-thousand chance of happening in a given year, burst 52 dams and caused about $1.5 billion in damages. But it was followed by catastrophic flooding in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

“No two storms are alike, and different areas could experience flooding,” Quagliariello said. “It’s very likely areas that never flooded in the past could experience flooding.” 

Quagliariello stressed that flooding won’t be confined to the coast. Recent rains ahead of Debby have left the ground more saturated than in 2015, and water levels in rivers are already high. While the Lowcountry is expected to get historic rainfall, areas further inland will see flash floods too. It won’t take as much rain to see flooding in regions with different soils and in cities with lots of concrete, he said.

McMaster issued a state of emergency Sunday, which put the state’s hurricane preparedness plans into gear. He urged residents to follow local news and updates from the National Hurricane Center.

State agency officials asked residents to do their part: Avoid driving at all, if possible. Do not drive through standing water. Have an emergency plan and listen to official sources for news. While McMaster is not planning to issue evacuation orders, local governments may, and residents should follow any such orders promptly.

Preparations are ongoing across the state to deal with the storm.

The National Guard has mobilized about 300 soldiers. The Department of Transportation has had crews clearing ditches for drainage over the weekend and has over 2,300 people mobilized.

Search and rescue teams are coming from Tennessee, Alabama and Michigan along with five search and rescue teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, alongside local and state teams across South Carolina.

Three emergency shelters are already operating, two in Charleston and one in Jasper County. Four more could open before Tuesday — two each in Berkeley and Dorchester County, housing up to 1,796 people across all shelters.

The city of Charleston announced a curfew starting at 11 p.m. Monday night. On social media, the city posted it had distributed nearly 45,000 sandbags by mid-afternoon Monday and opened parking garages for free to let residents move cars to higher ground.

The state Department of Environmental Services encouraged dam owners to check spillways and potentially lower water levels ahead of the storm. The agency inspected about 19 dams ahead of the storm, according to Myra Reece, the interim director. Dams were chosen for inspection based on facts including projected rainfall and risk to roads or property.

Attorney General Alan Wilson announced Sunday that the state price gouging law, which forbids “gross” increases in price during an emergency, is in effect.

On Saturday, McMaster issued an executive order to activate about 70 South Carolina National Guard service members to assist Florida ahead of the storm.

Accompanying the Guardsmen into Florida on Sunday were 30 high-water vehicles, which can access roads cut off to other vehicles due to flooding, according to the South Carolina National Guard.

Adjutant General Van McCarty said they’ll return to South Carolina when their mission is complete. In the meantime, there are still plenty of Guardsmen in South Carolina to “cover everything we think we’ll need,” he said.

Residents can find more information about the hurricane at the South Carolina Emergency Management Division website, www.scemd.org.