South Carolina town readies for Florence’s final blow

Five rivers flowing from eastern North and South Carolina empty into the Atlantic Ocean in or near Georgetown, S.C., making the coastal town Hurricane Florence’s last major target nearly a week and a half after the storm first made landfall 110 miles up the coast near Wilmington, N.C. So much water is heading downstream that it is backing up into rivers that weren’t flooding.

Town officials are taking precautions and have recommended that 8,000 people evacuate their homes as floodwaters are expected to rise above several bridges by early Thursday, leaving only one highway out. “The work has been done,” Georgetown Mayor Brendon Barber said of preparations ahead of expected record flooding. “We just need to pray.”

A few miles upstream in Conway, S.C., close to 1,000 homes are flooded, and the Waccamaw River is set to crest 4 feet above its record level set two years ago after Hurricane Matthew.

In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said his state would start focusing on recovery efforts. Close to 400 roads remained closed Tuesday due to flooding or erosion, but a portion of Interstate 40 reopened earlier than expected.

A tropical disturbance in the Atlantic is expected to bring rain to the region through early Wednesday, but the rainfall is not expected to cause any additional flooding.