ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — Orangeburg County continues to feel the effects of November’s floods, but now the county is receiving help from the federal government to aid in its recovery efforts.
Orangeburg County Council Member Kenneth McCaster says that many areas of the county were affected by the floodwaters, with some roads completely inundated. “There’s a lot of people in Orangeburg County that were impacted by this flood, and all those areas were not near ponds. Some of them were just roadways that just got inundated with a bunch of water,” McCaster explained.
There are still more than 20 roads closed in Orangeburg County due to the flooding. McCaster noted that some residents are facing significant challenges.
“Some people are having trouble getting to work. Because some people’s trip used to be 15 minutes, now their trip is 45 minutes to an hour,” McCaster said. “We definitely want those to be repaired, so they don’t have to spend gas when they don’t have to. We’ve had a road problem for a long time, but hopefully when we rebuild these roads, we can build them better so maybe we won’t have this problem for another 50 years or so.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, also known as FEMA, has announced that Orangeburg County will receive Public Assistance funds. This grant is designed to help local governments provide essential social services to the public, covering costs such as debris removal, protective measures, public buildings and equipment, and public utilities.
Orangeburg County Emergency Services Director Billy Staley says the county estimates $10 million in damages.
“We have what we call a damage assessment inventory, and it’s not everything that’s damaged, but it’s just some of the stuff that’s damaged,” Staley explained. “Those numbers are somewhere around $10 million. What happens is, as we make repairs, as long as we follow all of our protocols and our procedures, then we will be reimbursed at a 75% rate. FEMA will reimburse us 75% of our damage repair costs.”
The State of South Carolina will manage and disburse the FEMA funds to Orangeburg County.
McCaster emphasized the importance of patience during the recovery process. “I think it’s very important that folks understand and be patient with us, because those smaller projects that we had before are going to really have to take a back seat to these major roads and bridges that we are going to have to get up,” he said.
In addition to Orangeburg County, Bamberg and Calhoun counties will also receive disaster declaration funds for recovery efforts related to the November floods.