Gainesville residents getting back to business as usual
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — “This one hasn’t been that bad,” Randolph James, 72, who has lived in Gainesville 20 years, said today. “I called my family in Carolina, and they said it’s tearing it up up there.”
James bought essentials like food and water, and his home never lost power.
Hundreds of thousands of other people in Florida, as well as Georgia, did lose electricity, according to the tracking website poweroputage.us. In Charleston, South Carolina, winds of 55 mph had been recorded by 7 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Kyle Shi, 34, the owner of Mahzu Sushi & Grill in Gainesville, said that he thought the storm would be bad but that today went relatively smooth. The restaurant opened at its normal time, and it was packed. “So many people called to ask if we were open," Shi said.
Charleston tide within top 8 peak tides on record
The tide in Charleston, South Carolina, which recently was a little over 9 feet, is within the top eight peak tides on record, the National Weather Service said.
It was 9.03 feet at around 8 p.m., the weather service in Charleston said.
Flooding was occurring in downtown Charleston and had breached the Battery, according to the agency.
Some streets flooding rapidly in downtown Charleston
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Some streets in downtown Charleston began to flood quickly as tides fueled by Idalia continued to rise just before 8 p.m.
Around Lockwood Drive and Broad Street, police blocked off a road where waters rose high enough to cover the street and sweep up over the sidewalks, creeping toward large homes and apartments.
A police officer got out of his SUV and picked up a road barricade that was beginning to float away.
A few cars were still on the road as streets flooded in the downtown area, whipping water as they drove past.
Tornado watch issued for parts of North Carolina coast
Tropical Storm Idalia over southern South Carolina
Once a hurricane, Tropical Storm Idalia was over southern South Carolina tonight and still carried the risk of floods and storm surge, forecasters said.
The storm was around 60 miles west of Charleston shortly before 8 p.m., the National Hurricane Center said in an update, and it had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph.
Water has breached the Battery in Charleston
Winds whip and waves crash in downtown Charleston as tides rise
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Along the Battery downtown, high winds whipped and large waves began to crash over the wall and spill onto the street around 6 p.m, about two hours before Tropical Storm Idalia was expected to bring harbor tides reaching 8.7 feet and flooding to the area.
As some palm trees swayed, the occasional jogger or spectator passed by.
Christian Rabens, 49, a local boat captain, said he wanted to come out and see how the storm was beginning to affect the harbor.
“It’s starting to look pretty bad,” he said as waves crashed onto the Battery, a defensive seawall and promenade in Charleston. “I’m glad I’m not on the boat right now.”
“You never see the waves crash over the Battery unless there’s a storm like this,” he added. “In this area, you don’t see it coming over the sidewalk and into the road.”
On a nearby street downtown, Lee Tawes was sweeping a storm drain outside his home.
Tawes, 75, said that during storms, the floodwaters can block off the street completely.
“It can build up a lot, and you can’t get traffic through here,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service in Charleston said at 6:20 p.m. that tides in Charleston Harbor were expected to pass 7 feet shortly.
“The risk for major coastal inundation will quickly increase over the next few hours,” it said on social media. “If in Downtown Charleston, be sure cars are out of flood prone area. Be alert for likely road closures.”
South Carolina police department: Stop driving around road closed signs
Police in Horry County, South Carolina, are warning people to stay in because of the tropical storm and scolding those who ignore warning signs.
“If you are on the roads, heed these signs. (We are seeing people drive right around them, in floodwaters…),” Horry County police said today on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Police also asked people to stay off the roads, saying conditions were deteriorating.
Horry County and other areas are under a tropical storm warning, according to the National Weather Service. Heavy rain could cause flooding, it said.
Officials routinely warn people not to drive in floodwaters, because vehicles can be swept away and their occupants can drown.