Columbia Residents Forced to Evacuate After Historic Flooding

COLUMBIA, SC — Nine dead, thousands without power and water, homes destroyed and businesses gone.

“About to go to work yesterday,” said Columbia resident Tonya Jones.  “Mom called: ‘If you want to go to work, everything is underwater.'”

This is the worst flooding in the state’s history.

“This is worse than Hurricane Hugo,” said Stephanie Puskarz of Columbia.

Some residents have lost everything. Others were forced to evacuate, not knowing if their home is even going to be there when they get back.

“I wasn’t able to go to my house,” added Puskarz.  “I came straight from Publix and came back. It was roped off; police wouldn’t let me go there.”  She added, “They said I had to evacuate. I don’t know. I’ll find out in the morning.”

Many evacuated to A.C. Flora High School with nothing but the clothes on their backs, now looking for a dry place to stay, plus food and water.

“Grab what we could, and we were out. 30 minutes, tops–gone,” said Columbia resident Ernest Hair.  “We seen what happened down the road, flood, didn’t want that to happen to us.”

20 inches of rain in 24 hours, flood waters overflowing from Gills Creek into apartment complexes and businesses, the flood leaving a lasting impact on the city.

“It’s really hard. Hate all people out of work, of course myself. I don’t know, we just got to hang in there, hope for the best,” said Jones.

In the Midlands, 40,000 are without water. 500 roads and bridges are closed. Officals spent the day rescuing, and plan to move into clean up mode next.