COLUMBIA, S.C. — President Joe Biden has approved an emergency declaration for South Carolina as the state gets ready for potentially historic rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby.
Biden issued the order late Monday afternoon. It's designed to supplement the efforts already underway in South Carolina to prepare for the storm, including allow the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate disaster relief efforts. The government can also provide assistance for emergency measures designed to save lives.
Public Assistance (Category B) emergency protective measures, limited to direct Federal assistance and reimbursement for mass care including evacuation and shelter support, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding for the counties of Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Lexington, McCormick, Marion, Marlboro, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, Sumter, and Williamsburg.
This follows the actions of South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who issued a state of emergency for South Carolina Sunday afternoon. A state of emergency allows the state to begin making preparations. The state's emergency operations plan is now enabled and allows state agencies to begin coordinating.
At a briefing with reporters on Monday afternoon, McMaster urged people to take precautions and to avoid driving on roads for the next several days if at all possible. South Carolina Emergency Management Director Kim Stenson said flooding is the number one cause of deaths in a tropical system.
Stenson added the state's emergency operations center is now running 24 hours a day to coordinate response efforts and said sandbags and swift water rescue teams are on standby.