Flooding, cleanup continues after storms

Columbia, S.C. (Friday, February 7, 2020) – Residents in areas affected by Thursday’s storms should continue to use caution when traveling and cleaning up debris. Many roads, particularly in the Upstate, are still flooded in localized areas or are otherwise impassable.

The South Carolina Emergency Management Division is assisting several counties in the state which were affected by severe weather, including tornadoes, on Thursday. The National Weather Service confirmed two EF-1 tornadoes occurred Thursday, one each in Aiken and Spartanburg counties.

Currently:

·         As of 3:30 p.m. Friday, utilities report 15,859 power outages statewide, down from more than 51,000 outages this morning. 

·         Local firefighters and state water rescue teams rescued 11 people during Thursday’s storm, including nine in Greenville and two in Anderson.  

·         SCDOT reports that one bridge on Highway 81 in Anderson County destroyed, eight roads in the Upstate will require major repairs and approximately 83 roads are closed due to flooding.

·         SCEMD received four requests for resources from local emergency managers, including state water rescue teams and barricades.

·         Emergency operations centers in Anderson, Greenville and Pickens counties on Friday remained open at Operational Condition Two.

·         The South Carolina Department of Public safety has confirmed one storm related fatality in York County.

·         One shelter remains open in Spartanburg County at Covenant Baptist Church.

Damage assessments by local agencies are ongoing in all affected counties. Residents should report property damage to state and local emergency managers using the damage assessment tool in the SC Emergency Manager mobile app in the Apple App Store (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sc-emergency-manager/id1378105431?mt=8) and on Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.scemd.app).