By Betsy Finklea
The Dillon County local Emergency Management Committee recently met at a local restaurant.
Kristy Hughes of Florence County Emergency Management gave a review of the response during the October 2015 flooding.
Hughes used various slides to show the flooding in various parts of Florence County. She said areas that normally did not flood had extensive flooding.
Hughes said they had to utilize various resources including the Florence County Sheriff’s Office helicopter. She said they recued all types of people because the flood did not discriminate. She said the National Guard helped with the evacuations. She said they had to institute a curfew in Florence County during the floods.
Hughes said there were roads underwater that no one would expect. Since this was rain-induced flooding and river overflow, there was nowhere for the water to go or run-off.
The flooding evolved north to south over a three-day period. She said the command changed and the response moved. Mutual aid was stepped up. She said there were so many rescues that they cannot recreate the number, and there were 100+ swift water rescues. Hughes said for about 6-8 hours the county was cut in half by flood waters. She said this presented a challenge because one couldn’t access hospitals from certain areas, and they couldn’t go on Interstate 95.
Hughes said the flooding presented them with some things that they had never dealt with before.
A disaster resource center was set up with various agencies. FEMA did 6,200 applications for assistance for families. She said she remembered seeing the despondency on the faces of the victims. They had nothing and did not know where to start. A mobile center had to be set up in Johnsonville.
They worked with many agencies including the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Feed The Children, Harvest Hope Food Bank, United Way, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, Islamic Relief, DHEC, S.C. Department of Mental Health, Catholic Charities, Lutheran Disaster Response, Samaritan’s Purse, N.C. Baptist Missions and others, some of which they had never worked with before.
Hughes said Johnsonville First Baptist Church accepted donations, and she said they are still responding to the disaster.
Hughes said donations can be a disaster in themselves when people donate the clothes they clean out of their closets, etc. She said that money is best donation because it is easily transferable.
She said the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is still responding. The N.C. Baptist Missions fed people and are still there. Someone brought a shower trailer.
Volunteers helped clean houses, and Hughes said the debris was a disaster within a disaster.
She said God’s Pit Crew brought in close to 10 mobile homes. Chideo also assisted.
There were no fatalities in Florence County as a result of the floods, but 19 statewide. She said it will take two years to get people where they were in a livable structure.
