Flash floods, ‘once in 200 years rainfall event’ loom in South Carolina

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/flash-floods-once-200-years-rainfall-event-loom-south-carolina

By Jason Cumming and Elizabeth Chuck
Oct. 3, 2015

About 22 million Americans along the East Coast were under flood watches Saturday as a “once in 200 years rainfall event” began hammering the Carolinas with heavy rains — and the worst was yet to come.

South Carolina could get more rain in three days than it normally does during the entire fall, The Associated Press reported. Saturday was the third consecutive day of a relentless onslaught of rain, with a plume of precipitation expected to last through the weekend and only begin to taper off Monday.

Waterlogged Charleston, South Carolina, received 6 inches of rain over a period of 12 to 18 hours, NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins said on MSNBC, adding that people there were paddleboarding through the city. Flash flood warnings were issued for downtown Charleston.

“A lot more damage is still yet to be done,” he warned. “The rivers are going to be a problem in this area for days to come.”

President Obama declared a state of emergency in South Carolina and ordered federal aid for the Palmetto state.

With a tide of 8.2 feet, water levels in Charleston were the highest they had been since 2009. North of Myrtle Beach, residents received 16 inches of rain. A whopping 2 feet of rain threatened other areas in the state.

As much as a foot of rain fell overnight in Wilmington, North Carolina, and numerous water rescues were reported.

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Karins said the National Weather Service was referring to the historic drenching in South Carolina this weekend as a “once in 200 years rainfall event” — and it had the potential to be as bad as any likely to occur every 500 years.

The NWS added that “record rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding” were possible through Sunday. Up to 15 inches of rain was possible in some parts of the Carolinas, forecasters warned.

This stretch of the East Coast from Charleston to Washington, D.C., is expected to be deluged as a result of a weather pattern called a “Rex Block,” which is forecast to bring heavy rain to the area’s already-oversaturated grounds.

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