Multi-vehicle crash reported during floods in Charleston and Colleton County, South Carolina

Flooding in downtown Charleston, SC this morning. Many streets closed and water getting into some homes. I talked with a resident who has lived in her house for 30 years and she said this area floods often but she has only seen it this high 3 or 4 times. Live coverage with… pic.twitter.com/OpHXAlUrmP

— Charles Peek (@CharlesPeekWX) August 6, 2024

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Downtown Charleston recorded approximately 33.8 mm (1.33 inches) of rainfall over a 24-hour period between July 21 and 22. The precipitation was sufficient to overwhelm stormwater drainage in parts of the city, resulting in significant street-level flooding.

Videos posted on social media showed vehicles navigating through submerged intersections in Downtown Charleston, including at Wentworth and Coming Streets and at Vanderhorst and Ogier.

The NWS issued warnings of thunderstorms moving into the area earlier in the day, stating that the heaviest rainfall would be concentrated around urban centers and could lead to flash flooding in streets and small streams.

Minor saltwater flooding was also reported along parts of the Charleston and Colleton County coasts due to high tide on the evening of July 22. The tide level in Charleston Harbor reached approximately 2.18 m (7.14 feet) Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW), which is about 0.04 m (0.14 feet) above minor flood stage.

A multi-vehicle collision was reported along the I-95 in Colleton County near mile marker 41 amid the flooding on July 22. According to local media, at least one fatality was reported; however, authorities have not yet confirmed this.

The collision occurred at approximately 16:30 local time (LT), prompting the closure of all southbound lanes of I-95. At around 03:25 LT on July 23, the South Carolina Highway Patrol confirmed that all southbound lanes on I-95 had reopened to traffic.

While the cause of the collision remains unclear, the South Carolina Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate. Details about the collision, including the number of people involved, fatalities, or injuries, are expected to be released on July 23.

Featured image: Flooding in Charleston, South Carolina on July 22, 2025. Credit: Evan Deese

Rishav Kothari

Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.

• Rishav Kothari

  A 19-year-old Nebraska teacher reportedly tied her pupils together with twine and led them to safety through a blizzard in January 1888
• Rishav Kothari

  NASA built the Opportunity rover to last 90 days on Mars, and Martian winds helped keep it alive for nearly 15 years by blowing dust off its solar panels, until a planet-wide dust storm in 2018 blocked sunlight and silenced the rover
• Rishav Kothari

  In the winter of 1811–12, earthquakes near New Madrid, Missouri, shook so hard that witnesses saw the Mississippi River flow backward, and the shaking left a brand-new lake in Tennessee
• Rishav Kothari

  On 28 August 1859 a solar storm shocked telegraph operators and threw sparks on other lines, and on 2 September Boston to Portland clerks unhooked their batteries and kept sending for more than two hours on the aurora’s current alone.