FEMA unlikely to help after recent flooding, Horry leaders say. Where will aid come from?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is unlikely to help out Horry County this time around, despite serious flooding in parts of the county that’s damaged homes and caused some residents to evacuate, officials said Thursday.
“I just want to give you a heads up right now, don’t be thinking that FEMA will be coming to assistance on this one,” Randy Webster, the county’s assistant administrator for public safety, said at a news conference Thursday. “It’s very unlikely that’s going to happen.”
Webster said damage from a flood has to meet certain dollar-amount thresholds for FEMA to assist. In Horry County, there must be $1 million or more in uninsured losses from the floods, and South Carolina as a whole must have $7 million or more. The county hasn’t been able to do a damage assessment yet, but Webster said once it does, it’s not likely that the damage will meet both of those criteria.
During past flooding, typically caused by a hurricane or tropical storm, FEMA money has proved vital to help the county government recuperate the costs of responding to the disaster and help residents repair their homes or relocate.
“If we have enough damage that we can seek a Presidential Declaration we surely will,” Webster said, referring to the needed signature from President Joe Biden that would allow FEMA to come in an help.
Without FEMA’s aid, Webster said the county is instead seeking assistance from the Small Business Administration, which could offer low-interest, federally-backed loans to homeowners who need to repair their homes, or cut their losses and move somewhere else. In addition, local volunteer organizations and the Red Cross are on the ground and able to assist those who have been hit the hardest, Webster said.
Monetary assistance from the county or state government won’t be available, he said.
The areas of Socastee, Bucksport, Conway and Longs have been hardest hit by this flooding, and county leaders said the water had not yet crested near Socastee or Bucksport, meaning the flooding could get worse before the water recedes. The water has crested near Longs, and water should start going down soon, Webster said.
If you are experiencing an emergency, call 911. If you need help from the county, officials urged residents to call a hot-line: 843-915-5000.
Permanent solutions?
At the start of Thursday’s press conference, County Council Chairman Johnny Gardner said county leadership, and the county council, were working to find a “permanent solution” for the serious flooding that Horry County experiences.
Currently, a special committee of council is meeting to discuss possible solutions and how much those permanent fixes would cost. The committee, made up of state and local leaders, has met twice now, once in December and again last week, to discuss options, including a home buy-out program and a diversion canal on the Waccamaw River.
A buy-out program would have Horry County accept federal money to purchase homes that have flooded multiple times in recent years, and assist the homeowners with moving to a new place.
“We’re still in the process of getting funding together for a buy-out program, that is our top priority.” Webster said. “It’s still an ongoing process and we’re hoping to see some movement on that even more in the near future.”
Be careful out there
Other public safety officials on Thursday, including county Police Chief Joseph Hill and county Fire Rescue Chief Joseph Tanner urged residents to be careful when walking or driving near flood waters. Hidden dangers, including animals like snakes, can lurk beneath the opaque waters, they said. Roadways, too could be damaged, causing drivers to fall off the road.
“Don’t drive through flooded waters, you don’t know what’s under it or what’s not there any longer and you also can’t tell where the ditches are,” Tanner warned.
Hill, too, warned that animals and critters seeking higher ground could take refuge in homes or garages, and urged homeowners to be careful once they’re able to begin cleaning up after the water goes down.
“Once this event is over with, and you’re cleaning out your garages and places that have been flooded, we would urge you to be very careful as you move things around. Some of nature may have settled in your homes,” Hill said.
Hill also cautioned that county police have set up checkpoints in Socastee, Bucksport and Conway to aid residents and keep “unauthorized” people out of the neighborhoods. Only people who live in a neighborhood will be allowed to enter, he said, a safety measure to protect residents and their homes. One danger, for example, could be a larger vehicle driving down a flooded street, whose wake could push flood waters closer, or into, people’s homes.
Tanner added, though, that the county has several “high water” vehicles that it can use to help move residents out of flooded areas.
At the press conference, Gardner, the chairman of county council, sought to reassure residents.
“I want to let you know that we’re doing the best we can. (There is) a permanent solution that’s required for this,” he said. “This is not the first time that you’ve had this, and it seems to be getting worse every time we have substantial rain, so we’re going to be doing everything we can do to try to fix this. County Council is behind whatever we can do to fix it.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 3:42 PM.
