The National Weather Service issued emergency warnings for "dangerous and possibly life threatening" flash floods in parts of South Carolina Saturday.
Parts of the state saw over a foot of rain and rainfall records broken.
Heavy rains battered much of the East Coast Saturday and Sunday, causing power outages and traffic accidents which have left four people dead since Thursday.
The storms are the result of a confluence of extreme weather events: Hurricane Joaquin over the open Atlantic and a second weather system connected to it.
Joaquin did not hit the U.S. as expected but topical moisture associated with it is contributing to heavy rainfall, particularly in South Carolina.
Saturday afternoon's high tide in Charleston was about 8.29 feet, the highest …show more content…
Flooding has shut down the historic center of Charleston and residents were seen using kayaks and paddle-boards to navigate the streets Saturday.
Where the people normally are dealing with flooding for a few hours, they are dealing with it in days here,'' Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen told the Associated Press. Authorities have opened shelters in some coastal counties, and health officials warned people not to swim or play in the flood waters.
As South Carolina residents braced to ride out the storm, up to 500 residents were evacuated in coastal Brunswick County, North Carolina, the state's governor told CNN. Flood and flash flood watches are posted from Georgia to Delaware through Sunday.
But the Carolinas have been getting the brunt of the nasty weather, which forecasters said could have been exacerbated if Hurricane Joaquin made landfall in the U.S. as initially anticipated.
Parts of the state saw over a foot of rain and rainfall records broken.
Heavy rains battered much of the East Coast Saturday and Sunday, causing power outages and traffic accidents which have left four people dead since Thursday.
The storms are the result of a confluence of extreme weather events: Hurricane Joaquin over the open Atlantic and a second weather system connected to it.
Joaquin did not hit the U.S. as expected but topical moisture associated with it is contributing to heavy rainfall, particularly in South Carolina.
Saturday afternoon's high tide in Charleston was about 8.29 feet, the highest …show more content…
Flooding has shut down the historic center of Charleston and residents were seen using kayaks and paddle-boards to navigate the streets Saturday.
Where the people normally are dealing with flooding for a few hours, they are dealing with it in days here,'' Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen told the Associated Press. Authorities have opened shelters in some coastal counties, and health officials warned people not to swim or play in the flood waters.
As South Carolina residents braced to ride out the storm, up to 500 residents were evacuated in coastal Brunswick County, North Carolina, the state's governor told CNN. Flood and flash flood watches are posted from Georgia to Delaware through Sunday.
But the Carolinas have been getting the brunt of the nasty weather, which forecasters said could have been exacerbated if Hurricane Joaquin made landfall in the U.S. as initially anticipated.