4+ inches of rain from Debby. Thousands in SC lose power in York, Chester, Lancaster

More than 4 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Debby Debby fell Thursday across the Rock Hill region, causing road closures and power outages.

A flash flood warning was in effect for York County throughout the day, but there were no reported fatalities or extensive damage to property, according to officials. Emergency officials responded to several areas of flooding in York County and Indian Land in Lancaster County, but no rescues were needed as of 3 p.m.

Lancaster panhandle areas with flooding didn’t see it spread into any structures, said Darren Player, Lancaster County Emergency Management director.

Some people drove around barricades in areas near flooding, said Chuck Haynes, York County Emergency Management Director, and Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office. Haynes said driving into a flooded area can be “incredibly dangerous.”

“Those cones and barricades are put there for a reason — don’t drive through there until the area is clear,” Faris said.

S.C. 72 near the York-Chester county line closed for flooding Thursday afternoon, officials from both counties said. Chester emergency officials said drivers can use Interstate 77 and U.S. 321 to travel between York and Chester counties until S.C. 72 reopens.

By 3 p.m. Thursday more than 4.25 inches of rain had fallen in Fort Mill according to a U.S. Geological Survey gauge at Nation Ford High School. The National Weather Service gauge at the Rock Hill/York County airport showed an even 4 inches after 2 p.m.

The rains caused York County road closures south of Rock Hill at Milling Road and Ogden Road and Williamson Road at S.C. 324. Glasscock Road was closed at a bridge because of the tree down and flooding as S.C. Department of Transportation crews were sent to repair the damage, the sheriff’s office said.

Early in the day, flooding blocked segments of several other roads in the city of Rock Hill, including Dave Lyle Boulevard and Heckle Boulevard.

By 2:30 p.m., almost all city streets that had flooding were re-opened, said Rock Hill police Lt. Michael Chavis.

Power outages remain

More than 1,500 customers in York, Lancaster, and Chester counties remained without power Thursday around 3 p.m., according to according to Poweroutage.us , a website that aggregates live data from utilities across the country.

That number previously was more than 6,600 before noon.

Around 1 p.m., York County’s 3,100-plus outages were the most in any South Carolina county, Gov. Henry McMaster said in a news conference.

The area could see more rain Thursday night into Friday, but additional accumulation was expected to be less than an inch, the National Weather Service said in an updated forecast Thursday afternoon.

A flash flood warning for areas near Rock Hill and Fort Mill and Lake Wylie was expected to run through 5 p.m. Thursday.

A flood watch remains in effect through Thursday night in all three counties, according to the weather service.