Floodwaters from unprecedented rainfall in South Carolina have killed 11 people, closed some 550 roads and bridges and prompted hundreds of rescues of people trapped in homes and cars, officials said on Monday.
Governor Nikki Haley warned residents to remain on alert as rain continued to fall in some of the hardest-hit areas, including the state capital, Columbia, which saw its wettest days on record over the weekend.
“This is not over,” Ms. Haley said at news conference. “There’s still a lot of water out there.”
Obama declares disaster
President Barack Obama declared a disaster in South Carolina, making federal funds available to governments and non-profits in 11 counties.
More than 2 feet (60 cm) of rain have fallen in the past three days in parts of South Carolina, and moderate to heavy rain persisted on Monday in the state’s saturated north-eastern corner and in south-eastern North Carolina, the National Weather Service said.
Mother, child rescued
The flooding closed schools and government offices, stranded motorists and led to dramatic rescues, including a mother and her 15-month-old child who were plucked by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter from a flooded home in Huger, South Carolina.
Of the 11 people known to have been killed, seven drowned, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety said.
Four others died in weather-related car crashes, the agency said. A state transportation department employee was killed after his work truck was overturned and swept away by rushing waters, the agency said.
The severe weather was also blamed for two deaths in North Carolina, officials said.
1000 find refuge
Nearly 1,000 people have found refuge in shelters around South Carolina, officials said, and water distribution centres were being opened after the downpours left an estimated 40,000 people without drinking water. About 26,000 were without power, officials said.
On Monday afternoon, the Richland County Sheriff's Department sent deputies door-to-door to warn residents to evacuate after a dam burst east of Columbia.
Concerns remain
Ms. Haley and meteorologists said more flooding concerns remained as rains in the Midlands and Upstate South Carolina flowed downstream to the already-swamped area known as the Lowcountry.
That area includes the peninsula of Charleston, which emergency officials have reopened to allow people in and out though more than 30 streets remained flooded.
