BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — Since before Debby hit the Midlands, there have been road drainage issues throughout the Blythewood area. And now, more rain is only exacerbating the problem.
Stay put is the message from state transportation officials, highway patrol and local leaders in Blythewood.
This comes after this northeast region saw buckets of rain before Debby even hit, washing out areas like Killian Road.
"The rain has really stopped the engineers from being able to really get in there and tell us what's going on," said Hannah Robinson, SCDOT media relations coordinator.
Now, the rain is an issue everywhere.
"What we're experiencing is flooding in areas that are not technically known to flood and that's what's scary," Sloan Griffin III, Blythewood mayor said.
SCDOT officials said they've been reopening roads with washouts the past 24 hours, including Friendly Woods Road in Columbia.
"We had crews today repairing White Pond Road in Kershaw County. There was a washout that happened earlier in the day and our crews able to repair that and get that one back open," Robinson said.
Highway patrol troopers are encouraging the public to avoid driving, especially late at night when it's harder to see debris and standing water. But they said if you must drive, it needs to be with lights on, even during the day.
"I think the biggest thing that I saw today myself this morning was a lot of people are driving around without their headlights on and the law requires when you've got your windshield wipers on, you should have your headlights on. And I wouldn't rely on my daytime running lights in the daytime. I would reach down and manually cut those lights on so all the lights on your vehicle are on. That's going to help you be seen," said William Bennett, master trooper with the SC Highway Patrol.
Overall, these road officials said a couple trees have fallen into roads Tuesday, but nothing major.
"I haven't heard of any major incidences, just a lot of heavy to moderate rainfall in the Midlands," Trooper Bennett said.
State transportation officials tell News 19 no repairs can happen until the storm passes.