Unless you're stuck in a wheel chair or jail cell how the fuck do you die? It's not like this was a tsunami, earthquake, or volcano where there is little or no warning. It was a week and a half of rain.
Did they just sit there looking at each other asking;
How high's the water, mama?
Two feet high and risin'
How high's the water papa?
She said it's two feet high and risin'
Now some will say, "But dams and levies broke". OK fine but they didn't break without any warning on a calm sunny day. They broke because the water just kept rising from the warning falling out of the sky for a week and a half. I just can't find the words to express how stupid one would have to be to drown/die in this situation.
[FONT=Open Sans]Residents near one Columbia, South Carolina, lake were told to flee Monday afternoon, as a dam was about to break, potentially putting thousands in the path of millions of gallons of water.[/FONT]
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[SIZE=12px]South Carolina Rain Totals
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[FONT=Open Sans]Those new evacuation orders were issued after concern that the Overcreek dam at Forest Acres could breach. Minutes later, the dam broke, becoming the 18th dam to breach or fail in the Palmetto State since Saturday.
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[FONT=Open Sans]“I believe that things will get worse before they get better,†Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said Monday. “Eventually the floods will abate, but then we have to access the damage, and I anticipate that damage will probably be in the billions of dollars, and we’re going to have to work to rebuild. Some peoples’ lives as they know them will never be the same.â€
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[FONT=Open Sans]Although the bulk of the rain has ended, high waters are still a very dangerous reality after the historic flood event in South Carolina. Rescue crews went door to door in South Carolina's capital city of Columbia as officials continued to free residents that were trapped by severe flooding that swamped virtually the entire state.
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[FONT=Open Sans]"We ask that people stay home. They don't need to be out in this," said Don Miller, Myrtle Beach Police Department spokesperson, in an interview with The Weather Channel.
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[FONT=Open Sans][SIZE=14px](INTERACTIVE: Columbia Report and Recover Map)
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[FONT=Open Sans]At least 11 people have died from the floods in South Carolina since the rain began to fall days ago. In the wake of the disastrous flooding event, President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for the state of South Carolina, ordering federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts.
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[FONT=Open Sans]Obama's action makes federal funding available to affected parties in Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown, Horry, Lexington, Orangeburg, Richland and Williamsburg counties. Forms of assistance included are grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans for uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover.
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[FONT=Open Sans]The rain event has set records all over the state, flooding entire towns. For some locations, this historic rainfall qualifies as a 1,000-year rain event, meaning in a given year there is a 1 in 1,000 chance of observing rainfall totals of this magnitude.
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[FONT=Open Sans]"The flooding is unprecedented and historical," said Dr. Marshall Shepherd, a meteorologist and director of the atmospheric sciences program at the University of Georgia, in an email to The Associated Press.
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[FONT=Open Sans][SIZE=14px](INTERACTIVE: Charleston Report and Recover Map)[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Open Sans]The University of South Carolina announced Tuesday classes will be canceled due to the floods. Parts of Columbia, including the USC campus, lost water service, and plans were being made to deliver bottled water and portable restrooms to the students Monday morning.
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[FONT=Open Sans]As a result, officials are begging residents from other areas to donate water for Columbia residents who lack running water. Collections have been set up all over the state for citizens to bring extra bottled water that will be delivered to the Midlands, according to the AP.
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[FONT=Open Sans]Columbia city officials have released a statement issuing a boil water advisory to all 375,000 of its water customers, advising them to vigorously boil their water for at least a full minute. Any ice made from water that was not boiled beforehand should also not be used.
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[FONT=Open Sans]Swift-water rescue teams plucked hundreds of residents from stranded cars and flooded homes all over the state.
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[FONT=Open Sans][SIZE=14px]Officials say it may take weeks or months to assess all of the closed roads and bridges. A 75-mile stretch of I-95, the freeway that connects Miami to Washington, D.C. to New York, remains closed Tuesday morning.
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[FONT=Open Sans]Hundreds of roads will remain shut down across the state Tuesday; the South Carolina Department of Transportationhas a full list here.
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[FONT=Open Sans][SIZE=14px](MORE: How You Can Help the Victims)[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Open Sans]Multiple dam breaches were reported Sunday morning in Columbia, according to the city's fire department. On its Twitter page, the department said Arcadia Lake, Forest Lake and Lake Dogwood have been affected by the breaches, and if residents are in a dry place, they should remain there.
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[FONT=Open Sans]The city of Columbia, which reported a new 24-hour record rainfall – 7.77 inches between 11 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday – was placed under a mandatory curfew Sunday night into Monday morning.
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[FONT=Open Sans]There have also been reports of looting in Columbia, where some evacuated residents said they returned to find possessions missing from their homes, WACH.com reported.
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[FONT=Open Sans]"Overnight we had a break-in, so whatever was upstairs they came in and took. TV's, jedielry, everything," Willow Creek Apartments resident Pamela Courts told WACH.com.
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[FONT=Open Sans][SIZE=14px](MORE: Coastline Battered by Flooding, High Tides)
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[FONT=Open Sans]Emergency vehicles struggled to navigate the flooded roadways, and in many instances, they were only able to reach victims by boat. In Berkeley County, the U.S. Coast Guard assisted in water rescues, according to WCSC-TV, as more than one family needed to be removed from their homes. Authorities also requested helicopters to aid in rescues because the number of people needing help outnumbered the vehicles that could reach them.
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[FONT=Open Sans]On Sunday, a Coast Guard crew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter rescued Cristi Mueller and her 15-month-old daughter from the roof of their home in Huger. The mother and daughter were stranded after heavy rain and flooding overtook the house, forcing them onto the roof to escape the water. They were hoisted and taken to Mt. Pleasant Regional Airport and are in good condition with no injuries.
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[FONT=Open Sans]Nearly 30,000 customers lost power at the height of the storms. By Tuesday morning, less than 1,000 homes remained without power.
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[FONT=Open Sans][SIZE=14px]During the event, flooding was also reported in the Myrtle Beach area. According to local reports, vehicles were getting stranded on flood-covered, impassable roads, and some neighborhood roads were also flooded. City Manager John Pederson was authorized by Mayor John Rhodes todeclare a state of emergency for Myrtle Beach. Residents are being encouraged to stay inside and, if driving is absolutely necessary, not to attempt driving through standing water.
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[FONT=Open Sans][SIZE=14px]Gov. Haley declared a state of emergency Thursday evening in advance of any potential impacts from flooding. President Obama also declared a state of emergency and ordered federal aid to help the recovery in South Carolina.
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[FONT=Open Sans][SIZE=14px]"This is different than a hurricane because it is water, it is slow moving and it is sitting. We can't just move the water out," said Haley at a news conference.[/SIZE][/FONT]
