Crazy World We Live: Astonishing Photos Capture 1,000-Year Flood In South Carolina

Monday, October 5, 2015

Astonishing Photos Capture 1,000-Year Flood In South Carolina

People stand on the safety of a bridge as homes sit in floodwater in a subdivision west of the Ashley river in Charleston on Oct. 5, 2015.

Mic Smith / AP

Unprecedented floods have killed at least 12 people in South Carolina and left tens of thousands stranded, prompting President Obama on Monday to declare a major disaster in the state.

Described as a once in a 1,000-year event, the floods also forced mass evacuations and, according to Gov. Nikki Haley, left some 40,000 people were without running water.

Floodwaters close in on homes on a small piece of land on Lake Katherine in Columbia, on Oct. 5, 2015.

Chuck Burton / AP

James Savage, left, and his girlfriend, Ianna Fincher, with her dog Lucy, kayak down Mayfield Street in the Ashborough subdivision near Summerville on Oct. 5, 2015.

Mic Smith / AP

According to the National Weather Service, 17 inches of rain fell at Charleston International Airport from Thursday to midnight on Monday. Charleston was one of the areas that was hit the hardest by the unrelenting rains.

Officers carry June Loch to dry land after she was rescued from her home in Columbia on Oct. 5, 2015.

The State / Getty Images

Tara Saracina stands at her front door near Summerville after many of her neighbors left on Oct. 5, 2015.

Mic Smith / AP

Obama’s disaster declaration on Monday frees up federal resources for what will be a massive clean up efforts when the flood waters subside.

A business is destroyed by flooding in Columbia on Oct. 5, 2015.

Chuck Burton / AP

Matt Talley contacts a neighbor before taking a canoe to investigate his home in Columbia on Oct. 15.

Sean Rayford / Getty Images

Many of the fatalities involved trapped motorists, with photos showing nearly completely submerged vehicles. Residents were urged to stay put and avoid traveling.

Some 550 roads were closed throughout the state.