Storm Surge/Tide — Coastal Georgetown, South Carolina

2022-09-30 · Coastal Georgetown, South Carolina

Event narrative

Ian created significant storm surge, especially along the beach front and adjacent waterways of Georgetown County, when the storm's peak surge was nearly coincident with high tide on September 30, 2022. Surge impacted several homes and business in the city of Georgetown, SC, where sandbagging operations helped mitigate some of the damage. Dozens of homes on the inland side of Pawleys Island were damaged from the surge while home also were impacted on the north and south end of the island given more exposure from nearby inlets. Pawleys Island Town Hall and the causeway to the island were inundated by 2 to 4 feet of water. The Pawleys Island pier also suffered damage with the outer sections collapsed into the ocean. Significant surge also impacted Murrells Inlet and the Georgetown County side of Garden City with dozens of homes suffering damage to anything left under the first floor pilings. Overall Ian's surge averaged 3 to 6 feet along the Georgetown County beaches and adjacent tidal areas.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Ian made landfall along the west coast of Florida on September 28, 2022, then moved across the Florida peninsula and exited off the east coast of Florida on September 29, 2022. Ian then moved north and made a second landfall near Georgetown, SC on September 30, 2022. Ian resulted in a variety of impacts across northeast South Carolina from tropical storm force winds to flash flooding, and storm surge.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1056474. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.