ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — Over the last 24 hours, the northwestern side of Orangeburg County has gotten almost 13.5 inches of rain.
The rainfall has led to over 115 road closures throughout the county, flash flooding, rescues and more.
The main road between North and Orangeburg is washed away, leaving residents to find alternative routes to and from work. As a result, Orangeburg County Schools were closed Thursday and will be again on Friday.
North Mayor Jeff Washington is asking residents to be careful when leaving their homes.
“If you at home, if you don’t have to go out, please stay at home until we take care of some of these problems," Washington said. "We’re begging you to stay home, stay off the roads until we solve some of these problems.”
Over in Livingston, many residents like Tim Martin and his family have no way of getting out of their homes due to the heavy rain's damage to driveways.
“The driveway, I guess it got washed out by the rain," Martin said. "The rain came over the pond and washed the driveway out, and now it looks like a big crater. That’s more than we’ve had here in a long time. I mean, it's been a long time, so its going to take us a while to fix it."
In the city of Orangeburg, Edisto Memorial Gardens is under water, with spillage pouring onto Riverside Drive, John C. Calhoun Drive and Russell Street. Officials are not sure of when the flooding will stop.
City Administrator Sidney Evering tells residents to follow traffic cones and to be safe.
“Well, what’s going on behind us is some folks that got stranded in some stores, and we’re asking that you please be safe and do not drive through water," Evering said. "Understand that people are curious. Please turn around, maintain some distance because we want everyone to be safe in these situations.”
Governor Henry McMaster on Thursday declared a State of Emergency to assist South Carolina's response to the flooding in the eastern Midlands and portions of the Lowcountry. The executive order activates the South Carolina Emergency Operations Plan and supplements ongoing and possible future state response efforts.
For those in the city of Orangeburg that are displaced, the Samaritan House is an option for shelter, as is the city gym and North Central High School.