Emergency warnings was issued by the National Weather Service for "dangerous and possibly life threatening" flash floods in parts of South Carolina Saturday, according to the International Business Times. Parts of the state saw over a foot of rain and rainfall records broken.
On Saturday and Sunday, much of the East Coast was beaten-up by torrents of heavy, causing power failure and traffic accidents that left four people dead since Thursday.
The confluence of extreme weather events brought about the storm: Hurricane Joaquin over the open Atlantic and a second weather system connected to it.
Although, Joaquin did not hit the U.S. as expected, the heavy outpouring in South Carolina was actually brought about by the topical moisture associated with it.
The high tide in Charleston that reached about 8.29 feet on Satirday afternoon, was the highest on the record since Hurricane Hugo over 26 years ago as reported by the Weather Channel. Parts of the South Carolina Low country showed the torrential rain resulting in a major flooding that reached up to the waist.
President Obama declared it a state of emergency on Saturday. He ordered the coordination of disaster relief efforts among the federal agencies, as well as to assist the state and local authorities in responding to the floods and flood victims.
The historic center of Charleston was shut down due to the flooding and residents were shown navigating the streets using kayaks and paddle-boards on 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. Shelters in some coastal countries were opened by authorities and people were warned by the health officials not to swim or play in the flood waters.
The state governor told CNN, that up to 500 resident's were evacuated in coastal Brunswick County, North Carolina, as South Caroina prepared to ride out the storm. Throughout Sunday, flood and flash flood watches are posted from Georgia to Delaware.
As the Carolinas have been getting the brunt of the nasty weather, forecasters said could have been worst if Hurricane Joaquin made its landfall in the U.S. as initially anticipated.
