Edisto River crest breaks 1928 record, causing dam failures and damaging roads and bridges in Orangeburg, South Carolina
A plume of moisture from Hurricane “Rafael” moved northward into the Southeastern United States and collided with a stationary front over South Carolina, causing intense rainfall in Orangeburg County on November 6 and 7, 2024. The extreme rainfall, totaling 180 – 380 mm (7 – 15 inches) in 24 hours, overwhelmed local ponds and dams, leading to failures that sent water downstream, damaging bridges and roads near Norway, South Carolina.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Columbia, between 180 – 250 mm (7 – 10 inches) of rain fell in the Orangeburg area on October 6 and 7, with some localized areas receiving up to 380 mm (15 inches).
“Earlier tonight, the North Fork of the Edisto River crested at a record level of 4.67 m (15.34 feet). This led to significant flooding in and around the city of Orangeburg. River levels will begin to fall, although the river will likely remain above flood stage through the weekend,” meteorologists at the NWS office in Columbia reported at 02:21 LT on November 8.
The resulting flood prompted Governor Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency.
Authorities used boats to rescue stranded people, assisted several trapped in buildings in downtown Orangeburg, and rescued at least one person from a nearly submerged vehicle in Norway.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation closed 35 roads in Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties on November 7 due to flooding and flood-related damage. Drivers were advised to avoid traveling through affected areas, especially after dark, and to refrain from driving through flooded roadways or around barricades.
The city’s public utilities department reported power and water outages linked to the flooding, and the city opened its public gym as an emergency shelter. Orangeburg County Schools were closed on November 7 and 8 due to road closures.
“The flood water is finally starting to recede in Orangeburg after reaching a record flood level late Thursday at 4.67 m (15.34 feet). Over 0.3 m (1 foot) of rain and several small dam failures within the North Fork Edisto Basin pushed the river above both the 1928 record and the 2015 flooding level,” NWS said.
At 08:00 LT on November 9, the NWS reported ongoing flooding along the Edisto River, with flood conditions anticipated to continue through Monday.
While the river is receding at Orangeburg, flooding is expected to persist, and downstream at Branchville, the river levels are still rising. The NWS advised exercising caution around the Edisto River.
Featured image credit: SCDOT
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
Published in the last 24 hours
- Hawaii's largest freshwater lake was 200 feet deep at 10 a.m. on June 2, 2018. By that afternoon, lava from Kilauea had boiled it away Epicenter
- Flying glass cut a teacher in Russia but none of her 44 pupils, because when a meteor flashed across the sky in 2013, she told them to get under their desks Epicenter
- A South Dakota man put the widest and heaviest hailstone on US record in his freezer, and a power cut melted part of it before NOAA measured it at 8 inches across and nearly 2 pounds in 2010 Epicenter
- Black kites and brown falcons in northern Australia have been seen snatching smoldering sticks from wildfires, flying them into unburned grass and dropping them, starting new fires that send lizards, rodents and insects running straight toward the waiting birds Epicenter
