Hurricane Joaquin swirled away from the Bahamas early Saturday, after slamming parts of the archipelago for more than two days.
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Flooded roads were closed throughout the mid-Atlantic region, and power companies reported scattered outages in several states.
All Savannah River Dams are in good shape with over nine feet of available storage left and the COE does not anticipate any problems with these dams, according to Columbia County EMA.
Emergency shelters were being opened around the state for displaced residents.
While the state has not ordered evacuations, Haley said, “if you have ever flooded before, go ahead and get out of the way” because there will be massive flooding, she said.
Forecasters expect up to 14 inches of rain to fall in the Midlands through Monday and up to 12 inches in the rest of the state. Rain pummeling parts of the East Coast showed little sign of slackening Saturday.
L. Todd Spencer/AP A few hours before high tide, wind-driven waves crash into a fishing pier in Virginia Beach, Va., Friday, October 2, 2015.
In Virginia, the state Department of Transportation has temporarily suspended ferry service at the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry.
Historic rainfall levels were recorded in Charleston as the East Coast gets inundated in what has been called a slow-motion rain disaster as stormy weather settles in over the heavily populated region. Combining with torrential rain, major flooding up to waist deep was seen in parts of the South Carolina Lowcountry.
They said scores of homes had already been evacuated because of flooding, including in the coastal county that includes Myrtle Beach.
“It looks like we dodged a bullet this time,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said amid street flooding at the Jersey shore, devastated by Superstorm Sandy almost three years ago. They said that might have played a role in the death of a passenger whose vehicle was hit by a tree on Interstate 95 near Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Heavy rains are expected through Saturday before tapering off on Sunday.
No traffic fatalities were listed on the S.C. Highway Patrol’s website early Saturday morning. They were found upside down on the other side of a road. “We’ll be hitting this thing very hard in the morning”, he said. There was no immediate word on the driver’s condition.
While the hurricane is no longer forecast to make landfall in the United States, swells generated by the storm were slamming parts of the Southeast. The message stated that the ship was listing and crew members were preparing to abandon it. “It even happens to Coast Guard cutters”. Overnight, an airplane spotted a life ring from the missing vessel about 25 miles from the ship’s last known position.
Further, strong onshore winds are expected to result in minor to moderate coastal flooding along the East Coast, according to the National Weather Service.
“Charleston Mayor Joe Riley says the amount of rain predicted is unprecedented, but the city is ready to weather the storm through communication and teamwork”.
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Bruce Smith in Charleston, South Carolina; Mitch Weiss in Greenville, S.C.; Brock Vergakis in Norfolk, Virginia; David Dishneau in Ocean City, Maryland; Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, New Jersey, and Julie Walker in New York.
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On the current forecast track, the eye of the hurricane should pass west of Bermuda on Sunday. He’s seen firsthand from 2011’s Hurricane Irene that the heavy rains from a huge tropical system like this can have devastating effects far from the coast.
