Floodwaters don’t stop some Grand Strand church-goers, curious residents

Heavy rain and flooded streets across most of the Grand Strand didn’t dampen some church-goers spirits Sunday morning.

Several churches in Horry and Georgetown counties canceled services due to the extreme flooding in low-lying communities, but some places of worship kept their doors open.

Kingston Presbyterian Church in Conway was one of them.

“If you can put up with weather like this to go to a ball game or movie theater, then why can’t you come and serve Christ?,” said Randy Graham, who was leaving service at Kingston. “It just depends on what your priorities are.”

Graham said the church kept its doors open because services are important, but he didn’t expect every member to brave the floodwaters.

“It’s OK if someone had young kids, or was older and it wasn’t safe for them to drive, that’s fine,” Graham said.

Bradley Hardee, choir director, was waiting for the rain to abate before heading to his car. He said the flooded roads wouldn’t put a stop to his weekly tradition.

“I haven’t missed a Sunday service in 15 years,” Hardee said. “That’s what you do on a Sunday – you go to church.”

Leslie Wilson, of Conway, said she attended Sunday service for two reasons: because it was open and because she was thankful she was safe from the flooding.

Not everyone was as lucky as Wilson Sunday; area police and firefighters rescued stranded motorists all across the Strand. More than 10 cars were stuck in pond-like waters in streets and parking lots in Conway as of Sunday morning.

One of the reasons Wilson didn’t get stuck in those floodwaters, she said, was because she didn’t try to drive through any flooded streets.

“You don’t abandon caution,” Wilson said. “God still wants you to use your common sense.”

The intersection of Dozier and Prince streets in Georgetown was under almost 4 feet of water, which covered a few cars and poured into surrounding buildings. Sewers on Front Street couldn’t hold all the rainwater and were spewing floodwaters and oysters, along with a little bit of sewage.

Brett Phillips made his way around downtown Georgetown to survey the flooding and its damage to area homes.

Phillips said his home has seen at least 16 inches of rain since Friday, but he expects much more by Monday.

“I don’t know how much longer this is supposed to keep up, but I don’t think this area can sustain much more,” he said.

Georgetown County police blocked off traffic heading into the city from Highway 17 and also from U.S. 701, turning people around before they got trapped in the large puddles. Phillips said flooding on Highway 17 is a much worse emergency than the closure in downtown Georgetown.

“This problem shouldn’t exist because Highway 17 is an evacuation route,” he said. “But it’s not just the Lowcountry with this problem – it’s everywhere.”

This story was originally published October 4, 2015 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Floodwaters don’t stop some Grand Strand church-goers, curious residents."