South Carolina surveys damage and begins recovery from Hurricane Ian

Saturday passed relatively calmly in South Carolina after Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc on the coast Friday, damaging property, flooding homes and businesses, and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.

No casualty from the storm was immediately reported in the Palmetto State — a marked difference from its course earlier in the week across Florida, where it struck as a strong Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 150 mph. At least 27 people were reported dead and thousands were trapped in their homes in Florida, according to the Associated Press, and the number of casualties could rise as areas that were hardest hit are more fully surveyed.

The storm's second U.S. landfall officially came at 2:05 p.m. Friday near Georgetown, South Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. Hurricane-force winds of at least 74 mph could be felt 70 miles from the center of the storm while tropical-storm-force winds of at least 39 mph could be felt as far as 275 miles from the center.

Reports of damage along the South Carolina coast began before landfall. Piers on Pawleys Island and in North Myrtle Beach were among those ripped apart by surging waves.

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Storm surges reached 6.42 feet above ground level at Springmaid Pier at Myrtle Beach, representatives with the National Weather Service said during a news conference Saturday afternoon.

No significant river flooding was expected, and no significant road and bridge damage was reported.

The majority of the hurricane's damage was felt in Horry County, said Kim Stenson, director of the South Carolina Emergency Management Division.

Pawleys Island in Georgetown County and Horry County suffer most damage in SC

Power outages in the state were near 240,000 Friday afternoon. Fewer than 16,000 were without power as of about 4:15 p.m. Saturday, most in Horry, Georgetown, Charleston, Williamsburg and Florence counties.

On Pawley’s Island, a coastal community about 70 miles north of Charleston in Georgetown County just south of Horry County, at least half the island was without power Saturday afternoon, according to the Associated Press, including residents whose homes line the banks of the island’s expansive salt marsh.

People had taken to their yards by Saturday afternoon to clear debris and dead marsh grass with pitchforks. Some pieced together docks blown apart by the storm.

Ian’s impact was “bad, but it’s nothing compared to Hugo,” said Steve Smith, whose dock was forced into his backyard by rising water. Yet another dock had floated onto his property from parts unknown.

“After going through Hugo, we’re never complacent,” said Smith’s wife, Jane Smith.

Ian was still 100 miles out when the marsh waters began to rise, according to residents. But it wasn’t until the hurricane made landfall that conditions really deteriorated.

Fred Townsend, a retiree visiting Pawley’s Island from Columbia, was staying at his cousin’s house when Ian landed. An experienced sailor and navigator, even he was taken aback by the speed of the storm surge. Water rushed ashore, engulfing docks, yards and properties along the marsh banks.

Before he knew it, Townsend said, he was contending with more than three feet of water inside his cousin’s house, and at least five feet outside.

The water was still high an hour later when Townsend heard a “huge explosion.”  The storm surge had shorted his neighbor’s electric meter, causing an explosion and sending flames high into the air around the house, which was thankfully unoccupied.

Responding firefighters had to wait hours for the waters to recede before they could intervene, fearful of wading in and getting electrocuted by downed power lines.

By Saturday afternoon, Townsend had collapsed in a lawn chair behind his cousin’s house, the yard littered with dead marsh grass and debris.

“I am worn out,” he said emphatically.

Garden City hit worse than Murrells Inlet

Murrells Inlet avoided significant damage, but just a few miles to the north, Garden City was less fortunate. Late Saturday afternoon, bulldozers and dump trucks could be found clearing streets overrun by water, sand and mud.

The water line of the storm surge was still visible on the glass of storefront windows, and some residents remained without power.

Those who rode out Ian in Garden City described a harrowing experience. North Augusta natives Mary Rex and Melissa Hadden were staying at a friend’s beach house when the hurricane made landfall.

The flooding that followed, neighbors told them later, was the worst they’d ever seen in Garden City. A 12-foot sand barrier at a nearby beach access “busted,” Rex said, leaving the properties behind it vulnerable to Ian’s onslaught. Rex and Hadden fled to their upper deck, where they watched the storm surge crash into the house.

“We were looking for sharks in the street,” said Rex.

Making matters worse, Rex and Hadden’s house was situated between the ocean and a nearby saltwater marsh. The water, they said, came from everywhere.

From their deck, the women watched as cars and motorcycles were submerged and dumpsters floated down the street. At one point, the waves were so high Rex and Hadden formulated an escape plan to the roof.

In the end, that wasn’t necessary, but the storm ravaged the ground floor of their house. Over three feet of rushing water overturned wicker chairs, sofas and dressers, tore apart a bed, and shoved a fridge to the floor.

Rex and Hadden were still processing their ordeal Saturday afternoon. The wind, Hadden said, had been terrifying, screaming in through the window “like a freight train” and gusting so powerfully against their back door the women couldn’t open it.

Then, there was the storm surge.

“I’ve never such big waves coming at us,” Rex said.

After the storm cleared, a rainbow formed over Garden City. The waters receded, leaving Rex, Hadden and the rest of Garden City behind to clean up the damage.

Gov. Henry McMaster thanks President Joe Biden and agencies as power outages decrease

Shelters opened in Kingstree, North Charleston and Orangeburg were expected to be closed by the end of Saturday.

President Joe Biden declared an emergency and ordered federal assistance for South Carolina, as well as Florida.

State officials encouraged those impacted by the hurricane to document any damage and to report it to the SC Emergency Manager mobile app. Reports there will help determine if South Carolina qualifies for additional federal funds, officials said.

At the news conference Saturday, Gov. Henry McMaster thanked Biden for his interest and calling him, and McMaster thanked a number of agencies for their work in preparing for and responding to hurricane-related damage.

“There is damage and hard work to be done,” McMaster said, "but all in all, it is another good story for South Carolina.”

In the Greenville area Friday, wind gusts were mostly below 20 mph, and soaking rains fell the hardest east of downtown.

The remnants of the storm began pouring on Virginia and West Virginia Saturday as it moved toward the north from North Carolina.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina Hurricane Ian update: SC surveys damage, start recovery