“I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite this much water at one time:” evacuation urged for some Edisto River residents

BAMBERG COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF) – A code red alert was issued on Friday for people living along the Edisto River from Embree Rd. to the Bamberg-Colleton County line, with Bamberg County leaders strongly urging them to evacuate as water levels continue to rise.

One house on the river beside the Bamberg-Orangeburg County line bridge would be flooded right now if it wasn’t for the raised foundation it’s sitting on… other homes may not be so lucky.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite this much water at one time,” said Larry Still.

It’s Larry Still’s brother-in-law’s house, who he said wasn’t home.

Still also owns a house on the river off of Troy Rd. But, he wasn’t able to get to it on Friday.

Mass amounts of rain from Tropical Storm Debby have washed out many roads along the river – making it near impossible to drive down them.

“I came down here Monday and drove all the way to the river. I drove down here Wednesday and drove all the way to the river, but you could see it was rising,” Still said. “I think it might’ve had a little bit of water right up underneath the house, but I got all that cement and my house is 10 feet in the air.”

Because of the raised foundation, he’s not worried about his house flooding. He thinks a lot of his neighbors have already evacuated and that the water should start receding soon.

Teresa Barlow lives down the road, a little further away from the river. She’s still seeing the effects.

“The ditch out here though, it is rising,” she said. “So we do worry about that river and we’ll take our kids out of here and head up to higher ground.”

Bamberg County leaders are asking people to get to safety sooner rather than later.

“We’re asking for folks to monitor it, watch it, and should the waters become dangerous or hazardous, we need everyone to evacuate immediately,” said PIO Alisha Moore.

The county has a rescue team in place ready for anybody who needs help evacuating. Call 911 for emergencies and (803) 245-3031 for non-emergencies. As of right now, the flood warning will go until 7:30 PM Saturday.

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