Multiple Dam Failures Aggravate Dangerous Conditions in Flood-Ravaged South Carolina
Fourteen dams have breached or failed completely as of 7:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, according to South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. One was intentionally breached to alleviate pressure.
Aerial Footage Shows South Carolina Neighborhood Cut off by Flooding
In Richland County, residents living below Beaver Dam were ordered to evacuate Wednesday morning. The dam was stabilized and the evacuation order was lifted late Wednesday morning.
Residents near the Overcreek Dam were evacuated on Monday.
Still, many residents sit in areas susceptible to additional flooding.
"Don't let the sunshine fool you," Haley said on Tuesday, the public is still at risk through later in the week.
A breach of Old Mill Pond in Lexington County, S.C., led to widespread flooding. (Twitter Photo/Lexington County Sheriff's Department)Haley said officials are on the ground assessing vulnerable dams in various areas. Evacuation orders may continue to be put into place in order to provide safety for residents in those vulnerable areas.
"The combination of multiple days of torrential rainfall alone may have contributed to softening up earthen dams," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "The long duration of the high water is putting pressure on the earthen dams to the point of failure."
The Forest Lake Dam near Columbia, S.C., overtopped and sent water rushing. (Facebook Photo/Gills Creek Watershed Association)The risk for failures may continue even where water levels have already peaked in central South Carolina due to weakening of earthen dams, Sosnowski said.
Prior episodes of rain in September saturated the ground, enhancing the risk for flooding.
Officials in the hardest-hit areas have gone door-to-door, ready to evacuate those in need.
The multiple breaches and failures contributed to severe flooding and dangerous conditions.
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"This will not be a short or easy recovery, but we will get through it and get through it together," Haley said in a statement Monday.
After a verbal request, President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for South Carolina to expedite federal assistance to the flood-ravaged state.
The Carys Lake Dam in Richland County, S.C., breached amid the historic flooding. (Facebook Photo/Gills Creek Watershed Association)"Sporadic localized areas actually had significant rain during September, moistening the ground and causing some water levels to begin to rise," Sosnowski said.
Before the rounds of rain in September and October, 65 percent of South Carolina was experiencing moderate drought conditions.
In some cases, dams in South Carolina had not been tested since Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
A citywide boil water advisory is still in effect in Columbia with many safe drinking water distribution sites throughout the area.
Creek Rushes Over Road in Columbia, South Carolina
AccuWeather
Storm Chaser and Meteorologist Brandon Sullivan witnessed the military
preparations to plug a hole in a dam to prevent a breach or failure on
Monday in Columbia, S.C. (Twitter Photo/Brandon Sullivan)
Water
pours from a gate in the Lake Murray dam in Columbia, S.C., Tuesday,
Oct. 6, 2015. Despite an improving forecast, it will still take weeks
for the state to return to normal after being pummeled by a historic
rainstorm. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)- end quote from:
- After historic rainfall across South Carolina, dam breaches and failures have aggravated already dangerous flooding problems.
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