Charleston, East Coast brace for Debby's impacts

AccuWeather

AccuWeather's Bill Wadell is in Charleston, South Carolina, talking about life-threatening flooding expected there after Debby moves through Florida.

Transcript

00:00No stranger to Charleston, South Carolina, Bill Waddell. Bill, you've been there a

00:05number of times tracking hurricanes, but this one's a little different because of

00:11how slow it's going to be. And what have you heard so far about officials and

00:16people getting ready to tackle this flooding?

00:20Yeah, Bernie and Jeff, it's good to see you. This is one of those types of storms,

00:23especially in a flood-prone area like this that has officials and some locals

00:28very concerned, especially if this storm slows down or stalls out like we are

00:32worried about. And you know, Charleston, South Carolina, this region is all too

00:36familiar with flooding, even on sunny days when we see those king tide floods.

00:40But officials say Debbie has the potential for potentially catastrophic

00:45widespread flooding. They're saying that it could even reach a rare level that

00:49hasn't been seen in the city in quite some time. Now, we are roughly about 36

00:54hours away from when some of the worst impacts are expected to arrive and

00:59really ramp up in Charleston. So far today, we've only seen a few businesses

01:03with sandbags blocking the doors, but that will likely change quickly as

01:08businesses start shutting down on this busy Sunday. There are a lot of tourists

01:12and locals still out in Charleston. There's no real urgent sense yet of a

01:16big storm on the way, at least from what we've seen and heard. Now, across town

01:20over Hampton Park, truckloads of sand are being hauled in for families who

01:25brought their own shovels to distribution sites to fill sandbags.

01:29There is a limit of 10 per family in Charleston. Matt Alltop, Charleston's

01:33deputy director of public service, tells AccuWeather that hours of heavy

01:37rainfall on Tuesday and Wednesday could cause widespread flooding and road

01:41closures, even in areas of Charleston that typically don't see serious

01:45flooding.

01:47It's very important for people to come out and get sandbags. It helps protect

01:51property, you know, keep water from coming through the door, things like

01:54that, just just for protection. It can make a big difference. You know, it

01:58keeps water from entering the first level. Good, you know, because if you

02:01block that off, you know, chances of the next thing is your windows. So

02:05anything that you can do to protect even a little bit is going to help you

02:08in the long run.

02:11More than 20,000 sandbags have been filled up so far today in Charleston.

02:16We're told Hampton Park actually ran out this afternoon, and they'll be

02:19reopening tomorrow morning at seven a.m. with a fresh delivery of sand in

02:24place. Now, officials are warning people, as always, do not flood drive

02:29through flooded streets. Those situations are dangerous, and they can

02:32quickly turn deadly. They are urging people also to move those parked

02:37vehicles, especially on flood prone streets to higher ground, and many of

02:40the city parking garages, including the one that we're on right now to give

02:43you this view of Charleston. They have been opened for free so people can

02:46park here for the next few days at no charge just to get their cars to higher

02:50ground. And, guys, we're packing up, and we're gonna be heading over to a

02:53city briefing where we're gonna be speaking with officials in just a few

02:56minutes on their latest concerns with all of the rain, all of the flooding

03:00here in Charleston. We'll be back later tonight with those concerns from city

03:03officials. And Bill, listen, I'm sure you they understand that the flooding

03:09is on two sides, right? You're gonna get that storm surge up into the

03:15harbor, and then you have the fresh water flooding. So it's kind of, I hate

03:20to say it, you're gonna get like almost a pincher movement. One coming in from

03:25the east, and then you have all the fresh water flooding, right? Absolutely.

03:31With the onshore flow, that's gonna make things even worse. Again, when you're

03:33talking in an area like this, a lot of water, nowhere for it to go. We've got so

03:38many waterways, riverways, drainage, just trying to get that water out to the

03:42Atlantic. But when you have a storm like Debbie that's gonna be pushing that

03:45back, again, it's all gonna come down to timing, as you know, and just how long

03:48this storm lingers. But water always causes problems here in Charleston. It does.

03:52And they are warning people, be prepared for potentially catastrophic impacts.

03:57You know, a lot of the city, I'm afraid, is gonna go underwater here.

04:01That's what the concern is. All right, Bill Waddell. Thanks, Bill. Stay safe.

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