Hurricane (Typhoon) — Williamsburg, South Carolina

2016-10-08 to 2016-10-14 · Williamsburg, South Carolina

Event narrative

Hurricane Matthew moved up the eastern seaboard, bringing very heavy rain and strong winds. Rainfall amounts were high, with over 13 inches reported northwest of Kingstree, with many areas over 10 inches. Tropical storm force winds and flooded ground caused widespread tree and power line damage. There was major river flooding however along the Black River at Kingstree. Water rescues were needed in this area. Numerous roads were flooded and were impacted by washouts. An emergency shelter in Kingstree was forced to close due to rats escaping from the flooding. More than 2150 homes sustained some damage and of these, 160 homes were destroyed or sustained major damage. Twenty-eight roads and four bridges were damaged. Williamsburg County Emergency Management estimated the damage at around 5 million dollars.

Wider weather episode

Major Hurricane Matthew moved up the southeast coast and slowly weakened to a category 1 storm as it moved up along the South Carolina coast and then eastward near the North Carolina coast. The hurricane brought 6 to 12 inches of rain and up to 15 inches to some areas of northeast South Carolina, with the bulk of the rainfall occurring within a 12 hour period. This rain fell on wet to in some cases saturated soil due to much above normal rainfall in September. The result was historic flooding; widespread flash flooding, and an extended period of major to record river flooding. Matthew's flooding rains, surge and wind brought loss of life, displaced tens of thousands of people, and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in structural damage as homes and businesses were devastated or totally destroyed. Major infrastructure will have to be repaired or rebuilt.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 663950. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.