Firefighter George Davis (left) carries Helen Witt, 11, to dry land and resident Mel Hall carries James McFall as April Witt, 14, walks along in Thursday's evacuations. TODD BENNETT/STAFF

Earl floods region

Damage not as bad as '90

Web posted September 4, 1998

By Alisa DeMao and Amy Joyner
Staff Writers

It wasn't quite the one-two punch of 1990, but Augusta residents looked to the skies Thursday, braved the driving rain, waded through waist-deep waters and remembered.

Throughout the battering by Tropical Storm Earl, which brought with it 8 1/2 inches of rain and a 100-year flood, thoughts were on two tropical storms -- Klaus and Marco -- that merged and stalled over the area eight years ago, dropping 15 inches of rain.

``I was here in 1990, when ...'' were the words on numerous lips. But many residents agreed that Earl wasn't as bad as the 1990 flood.

Rising water Thursday blocked parts of Laney-Walker Boulevard, Walton Way, Wheeler Road, Boy Scout Road and Gordon Highway. Water forced residents from their homes near Rae's Creek and Rozella Road while knocking out power to thousands of homes, pulled cars into ditches and washed over Interstate 20.

But with all the flood-prevention measures in the past eight years, why was it so bad?

Richmond County Deputy Sheriff Erik Napier wades through waist-deep water at the corner of Sand Bar Ferry Road and Fairhope Road to help William Carrol, who accidentally drove his Jeep Cherokee into a watery ditch caused by heavy rains. JEFF JANOWSKI/STAFF

``That's what tropical storms do,'' said Pam Tucker, director of the Richmond County Emergency Management Agency. ``That's what scares me. They drop so much rain in such a short period. You can spend $10 billion on flood mitigation, and if you get this much rain in a 12-hour period, you're going to have flooding.''

Defying early predictions, Earl hung around throughout Thursday to swamp area neighborhoods and roads. As rain-swollen creeks washed across roads and drove residents from their homes, firefighters used boats to evacuate some neighborhoods.

At least one Richmond County school was flooded, although water didn't creep in to Craig Elementary on Hale Street until after students were dismissed for the day, said Superintendent Charles Larke.

In Aiken County, power outages hit Redcliffe and North Augusta elementary schools and North Augusta High School, but classes went on as scheduled, Deputy Superintendent Bill Gallman said.

About 4,000 residents in Richmond and Columbia counties lost power Thursday because of the gusty winds, and many sat in dark and stifling homes warily eyeing the rising waters.

A storm that blew through Aiken County between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. knocked out power to as many as 4,000 customers in Aiken and North Augusta. Aiken Electric Cooperative reported scattered power outages in Aiken and Edgefield County.

A truck cuts a wake through the floodwaters created in the wake of Tropical Storm Earl, downgraded from hurricane status, on Jones Street in Augusta on Thursday afternoon. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

Power was restored to most South Carolina customers late Thursday afternoon. Georgia crews planned to work through the night, fighting winds that reached 40 mph and brought down tree limbs. They hoped to have power restored to most customers by noon today.

In myriad ways, Augustans flexed their will Thursday -- determined to get home or to leave home despite closed roads, pelting rain and swirling deep water.

At Willow Creek subdivision on Berckmans Road, firefighters arrived with a john boat to rescue one elderly woman from her home. Her daughter was afraid she wouldn't be able to escape as nearby Rae's Creek kept rising. Another woman parked near the closed subdivision entrance and proceeded to half-hike, half-swim through the waist-deep water, carrying a multicolored golf umbrella to keep the top half of her body dry.

Bonnie Colley, who lives atop a hill on Tupelo Drive near Rae's Creek, has seen floods. She lived in the same house in October 1990. Her house escaped damage then. But just two doors down, a neighbor's basement was flooded, causing severe damage.

``Did I think about moving? For a day or so, maybe,'' she said.

The work done since 1990 to prevent flooding helped this time, Ms. Colley said. The entrance to her neighborhood has been raised since then, she said, pointing to the still-visible Berckmans Road guardrails. They weren't visible in 1990.

``This isn't near as bad as before,'' she said.

Residents in Grovetown and Harlem experienced impassable roads due to downed trees and power lines.

Doug Sparks (left) helps his friend Hank Peacher tow his wife's car from the middle of a flooded University Hospital parking lot after becoming stalled during rains Thursday's rains.JEFF JANOWSKI/STAFF

The Aiken County Sheriff's Office reported problems with flooding and downed trees, including flooding at the intersection of Richland Avenue and Beaufort Street, sheriff's Lt. Michael Frank said. A downed power line was the suspected cause of an accident near Graniteville.

In North Augusta, about eight trees fell across power lines or onto roadways, and minor flooding was reported in parking lots and on some roads, said Lt. Tim Pearson of the North Augusta Department of Public Safety.

Barnwell County residents reported tornado touchdowns, but they could not be verified by National Weather Service radar, said John Angil, county director of emergency services.

A tornado that tore through Screven County, southeast of Augusta, injured five people and damaged a dozen trailers, leading officials to set up an emergency shelter at First Baptist Church in Sylvania, Ga.

Emergency officials and the American Red Cross in Richmond County set up an emergency shelter at the Holiday Inn Express on Gordon Highway, but most people preferred to stay with friends and relatives, Ms. Tucker said.

Staff Writers Meghan Gourley, Debbie Steele and the South Carolina Bureau contributed to this report.