Early Wednesday morning, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD) sent out an alert telling people living near Beaver Dam, in Richland County, to get out now and move to higher ground.
Advertisement
Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Curtis Wilson said people who live below the dam should move to higher ground or go to the shelter a A.C. Flora High School.
Crews worked overnight to stabilize Beaver Dam in Northeast Richland County Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
Emergency responders in Richland County said two people were unaccounted for after a truck they were in drove around road barriers and became submerged in floodwaters resulting from the historic rainfall in the state.
Teams are searching the area in rescue boats and dive gear.
The area most affected by floodwaters is the Forest Acres area of Columbia.
Richland County was under a curfew from midnight Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday. As many as 40,000 homes have no water service, and those with service have been told to boil the water for at least one minute before using it for drinking or cooking.
Authorities were working to determine the severity of the situation according to the spokeswoman. Richland County authorities told local news outlets an 82-year-old man who had been missing was found dead in his vehicle Monday.
Crews from the South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. are pumping water out of the pond to relieve pressure on the dam.
A relentless stream of heavy rain has been pouring over the same areas in South Carolina for almost 24 hours, dumping record breaking amounts of precipitation over much of the state.
Advertisement
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says the state is monitoring the situation closely and warns there may have to be evacuations from areas along the coast.
