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Ruth McAteer (Lockridge)
We live in North Myrtle Beach.
It first started raining on Friday afternoon and by early evening, we thought we might have to leave our house because of flooding. The lake we live on started coming out of banks and with the unrelentless torrential rains Friday afternoon and night, the water kept creeping up to our house until a little after 10 o'clock when everything got quiet and the rain finally stopped. It had rained nonstop for 7 hours and it was such hard, hard rain that when it did stop we were just waiting for it to start again. We stayed up late that night in case it did start to rain again so we could decide what we would do which didn't leave us many options as our neighborhood was flooded and cars were stalled in deep water and we knew we couldn't get out in our car or truck. The street in front of our house was flooded and it had come up our driveway a ways. Thank God, the rain didn't start again right away and we looked out at the lake around 2:30 a.m. and saw that it had receded some. Then at 3:00 it started raining again but miraculously, the lake didn't rise anymore. It pretty much stayed at same level which was still high but not as close to our house. It continued to rain off and on but we were lucky. It never came that close to our house again and on Saturday mid-morning, we were able to get out and observe the damage around our area and close to beach. We saw some roads blocked off because of flooding and we saw one road that was washed out but we got to the grocery store and got a couple of errands done (most places were closed) then came back home. We looked out the back window and saw a small line of loose grassy debris that the water had washed up and we could then tell how close the water had come to our house. It was within a few feet of coming into our house but our house sets back about 7 feet further from the lake than the two houses on each side of us which DID have water get into their back porch/ sunrooms but I don't think there was any real serious damage. So Billy and I were very lucky not to have any damage at all. We are truly blessed. God is good. So Saturday was ok weather-wise but it started raining again on Sunday morning but still we were ok and water didn't gather in street out front or affect the level of the lake. We did have some thunder and lightning and the power blinked off once but that was about it. The poor people in Columbia and Charleston had it worse than we did although we got more inches of rain than Columbia, it actually did more damage there than here.
I appreciate you checking on us. I have had so many friends and family members asking about our safety and it really makes us feel good to know that people care.
I am so glad the rain is over. Can't wait to see sunshine.
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From Paul Sprouse in Pawley's Island "The South Strand fared very well, unlike North Myrtle & Charleston. No loss of power.".jpg)
Barbara Bolden Black in N. Myrtle Beach - "We have received lots of rain. Some places getting water in their buildings but so far we are lucky. Being east of Hwy 17 and close to Ocean Blvd where streets are flooding has caused me to really watch reports on TV. Actually, the only really bad area I have heard of has been Calabash/Carolina Shores. A friend had to evacuate and had water coming into the house. They seem to have had a levee or something break there. All the roads I have been on in the past few days have been open and no standing water. Thanks for checking."
From Rebecca Littlefield Jones in Charleston: Historic rainfall and flooding for sure! I am very Blessed in that I'm not under water here on Daniel Island. The sidewalks are ankle deep and ponds are overflowing. I have not been out since Friday and can only attest to my surroundings. I had cabin fever today so I put on my boots and walked around..not near any of the ponds for fear of alligators! All around Charleston So many people have been flooded out of their homes. The Market closed, Churches cancelled services, & even Southern Seasons is closed! My son is on Sullivan's Island and still today front and back yards are lake-like. My granddaughter is downtown @ College of Charleston and we had an outing last Sunday. We were walking around and I asked if her area ever flooded...well, I guess I jinxed it. Her streets were flooded and water up to her knees at one point. Of course, the kids love paddle boarding, sloshing around in it and even using floats! You couldn't catch me in that water....who knows what lurking underneath.jpg)
George Crow in Columbia writes: Pretty heartbreaking in some areas, Kay. I received a call from a deputy sheriff in our church at about 5:00 this morning and was encouraged to cancel services which I did. Parts of Columbia were hugely devastated. Fortunately my family and I still have electricity and running water, but many have not been as fortunate. The Governor was calling it a "once every thousand years" event. Water is so powerful!!
Foster Garner in Myrtle Beach writes: It appears that we are ok. There was flooding north and south of us. Thanks for your concern..jpg)
Tommy Deas in Myrtle beach writes: All is well here. Our area is mostly high ground with great drainage to the Inter Coastal Waterway about 1/2 mile away. Most flooding occurs there. The retention pond out back was over it's banks about four feet but was no where near the house._br(1).jpg)
Chris Brumfield from Charleston writes: Thanks for checking on me. My house is okay. Even though I am accross the street from salt water my house is elevated enough not to have any water in it. My business is beside a creek in another part of Charleston and I haven't had a chance to check on it yet. Chris
