COLUMBIA, S.C., Oct. 5 (UPI) — At least five people have been killed and hundreds of water rescues took place in the region over the weekend as historic rain continued to pour down on South Carolina.
Gov. Nikki Haley urged residents of Charleston to stay home unless they absolutely had to leave because streets were flooded, power had been shut off, and dams are almost overflowing. The state is being slammed by a weather event Haley said only happens once ever 1,000 years.
A crushing combination of moisture from Hurricane Joaquin with a low-pressure system dumped over a foot of rain on many parts of the state. South Carolina has taken the brunt of it, but heavy weather doused the Eastern Seaboard as far north as New Jersey. President Obama has declared a State of Emergency in South Carolina.
Joaquin was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane, and has turned back over the Atlantic Ocean toward Bermuda, however, the rain could continue to Wednesday. Flash flood warnings continue through Monday evening.
The United States Coast Guard, Air Force and Navy continue to search for the El Faro, a 790-foot American cargo ship missing since Thursday morning near the Bahamas when Joaquin was lashing the region. The ship had 33 people aboard when crew members reported the ship was flooding and its engine had died.
An oil sheen, containers and life preservers have been spotted by search crews in the area but cannot be linked to the El Faro. So far, the search has covered more 70,000 nautical miles and expected to continue Monday.
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