Shortly after midnight on Sunday, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued flash flood emergency warnings for Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties, noting the risk of “catastrophic” flooding.
“This is a life-threatening situation,” the NWS warned.
Later on Sunday morning, weather officials said the warning would remain in effect until at least the early afternoon.
“Significant flooding is still ongoing in many areas and due to the extremely wet soils from rain over the past three days and the increasing coastal tides the flooding will remain a problem into [the] early afternoon,” the NWS said.
More than 11 inches of rain fell on the city in 48 hours, while more than 16 inches were recorded near Columbia, the state’s capital.
Here is a map of the estimated total rainfall for the Carolinas over the past 3 days. #SCFlood#TurnAroundDontDrown
Officials in Richland County, in which Columbia lies, said more than 100 people had been rescued from vehicles while attempting to cross flooded roads.
According to Weather.com, the rainfall is due to tropical moisture tied to Hurricane Joaquin, a former Category 4 storm that battered the Bahamas before weakening as it made its way up the U.S. East Coast.