Extreme weather – Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods all hit Bamberg, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties in 2024

Tornadoes, hurricanes, a microburst, drought and floods all visited The T&D Region in 2024.

The storms resulted in two fatalities, caused widespread damage to homes and businesses and disrupted the region’s transportation infrastructure by washing out roads.

The harsh weather earned the spot as the number one story for 2024.

Orangeburg County Emergency Services Division Director Billy Staley said 2024 continued a trend of more active weather both in the number of events and in event severity.

“Orangeburg County has had over 100 structures damaged during the events this year, with damage totals in excess of $10 million on the private side and $26 million on the public side,” he said.

The year began ominously.

On Jan. 9, downtown Bamberg experienced an EF2 tornado with winds as high as 125 mph. The tornado resulted in extensive damage in the downtown area, causing buildings to collapse on top of the road.

U.S. Highway 301 in downtown Bamberg was closed for three months during the cleanup process.

No one was injured during the storm.

In addition to destroying several buildings downtown, the storm also heavily damaged barrel manufacturer SC Oak to Barrel LLC’s building.

The company is planning a new, bigger facility in Bamberg. It is preparing for a summer 2025 opening.

In early August, a microburst with straight-line winds tore off a portion of a roof on a Broughton Street building in Orangeburg.

At Mirmow Field off Whaley Street, the storm damaged a block outfield wall, roofing over part of the bleachers and one of the stadium’s light towers.

There were no reported injuries during the storm.

Later that same month, Tropical Storm Debby dumped large amounts of rain on the area, causing the South Fork of the Edisto River to rise to record levels.

Three people were rescued from the river. Evacuations were issued in Bamberg County.

There was also extensive flooding in the Holly Hill and Eutawville areas that resulted in road closures.

In late September, Hurricane Helene brought nearly 60 mph wind gusts to the Orangeburg area. 

A total of seven tornadoes were confirmed in Orangeburg, Calhoun and Bamberg counties.

The tornadoes – which were all on the weaker side – caused extensive tree damage. There were no reports of significant structural damage. No injuries or fatalities were reported.

The storms prompted the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United States Department of Agriculture to release money to help the region recover from the storms.

Staley said individuals who need to file for assistance with FEMA can do so on-line until Jan. 7, 2025 for Helene.

“Additional recovery efforts for government agencies are ongoing and we anticipate this process to take a few months,” Staley said.

Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency Director David Chojnacki said while county government buildings were spared from Debby and Helene’s wrath, county residents were less fortunate.

“Many of our residents suffered minor damages from Hurricane Helene, including loss of food due to power outages, minor roof damages, and minor leaks from torn-off shingles,” Chojnacki said. “Many homes off Banks Lane in Sandy Run received some damage, including one reported as being flooded. That home was not the owners’ primary residence.”

“FEMA only offers assistance to homeowners and renters for their primary residence,” Chojnacki said. “We do not have any long-term recovery efforts for those storms.”

In Bamberg County, the heavy rainfall from both Debby and Helene led to widespread flooding. The storms caused significant damage to property and infrastructure.

Bamberg County Public Information Officer Alisha Moore described the year’s weather as “unprecedented and devastating.”

“The county faced severe challenges that tested the strength and resolve of its community,” Moore said. “Countless county staff members were on the front lines, putting in exhausting work to clear roadways, rescue families stranded by floodwaters, and remove fallen tree debris.”

Moore said Bamberg County residents also exhibited solidarity during the storms.

“Despite feelings of exhaustion and emotional strain, the people of Bamberg County exemplified resilience and compassion during one of the most challenging periods in the county’s history,” she said.

FEMA was on the ground for the storms in Bamberg County.

“Their efforts included helping families repair storm-related damages and offering food replacement benefits to those who experienced food loss due to power outages and flooding,” Moore said. “FEMA’s presence brought critical relief and resources to those in need.”

The area then experienced a long dry spell, only to have it immediately followed by historic flooding.

There was a 29-day stretch of no rainfall at the Orangeburg Municipal Airport from the end of September through most of October.

It was the second-driest October on record and the third-longest streak without rainfall at the airport. Historical climate data at the airport goes back to April 1998.

The dry spell prompted the U.S. Drought Monitor to list portions of the area under a moderate drought.

Record rainfall followed on Nov. 7.

About 15 inches of rain fell over a 12-hour period.

It resulted in two fatalities. It also broke dams, flooded homes and completely destroyed some roads.

The flood damaged about 39 to 52 residential and commercial buildings and caused about $8.7 million worth of damage in Orangeburg County alone.

Also, 56 roads were still closed in Orangeburg County through early December. At the height of the storm, about 179 roads were closed.

An estimated 15 to 20 dams failed in the county, including the Etheredge Millpond Dam. The dam breach resulted damage to the heavily traveled North Road (U.S. Highway 178).

The Edisto River set an all-time record crest at 15.34 feet. The previous record was 14.7 feet set in 1928.

The storm also caused significant damage at the Edisto Memorial Gardens.

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster requested a federal Major Presidential Disaster Declaration in the middle of December.

The disaster declaration, if approved, would provide FEMA Individual Assistance Program assistance to impacted residents in Bamberg and Orangeburg counties.

The request also includes all categories of the FEMA Public Assistance Program for Bamberg, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties.

Twelve roads were heavily damaged in Calhoun County, with an estimated cost of $175,000 to repair.

“We met our FEMA threshold, and SCEMD (South Carolina Emergency Management Division) is seeking a declaration of public assistance on our behalf,” Chojnacki said.

If the public assistance declaration from FEMA is received, it will cover 75 percent of the county’s road repair costs.

“Temporary repairs are ongoing,” Chojnacki said. “When assistance from FEMA is confirmed, we can begin permanent repairs.”

Staley encouraged the public to reach out to family, friends, ministers and mental health providers if the number of events has been trying for them.

“If you have unmet needs, please reach out to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, DSS or the Office of Emergency Services and you can be pointed to hopefully a provider who can help,” Staley said.

The other top stories of 2024 for The T&D Region include:

School construction

The Orangeburg County School District announced plans to build a new school, broke ground on another and cut the ribbon on two newly completed school building additions in 2024.

The projects include:

• OCSD received $40 million from the South Carolina Department of Education in August to build a new Robert E. Howard Elementary School.

The $43 million elementary school will be built at the site of the existing Robert E. Howard Middle School at the corner of Chestnut Street and Belleville Road. The existing middle school will be demolished after its students move to William J. Clark Middle School.

Construction on the school is expected to begin in the spring of 2025, with move-in scheduled for the fall of 2026.

• The district broke ground on the new Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School in April. Construction began in the spring of 2024 with completion targeted for the late summer of 2026.

The new, $125.3 million high school will be a two-story, 280,209-square-foot facility. The new school is located on about 92 acres on Cook Road, which is located off U.S. Highway 601.

The school’s campus will include practice fields and a 4,500-seat football stadium near the rear of the property.

• In July, the ribbon was cut on the new, $7.6 million Lake Marion Middle School in Santee. It’s located on the campus of Lake Marion High School.

The newly constructed, 20,500-square-foot wing was added next to the preexisting 24,500-square-foot school building.

The school serves students from the former Holly Hill-Roberts and Elloree middle schools, which closed.

• The ribbon was cut on the new, $11.4 million classroom wing at the William J. Clark Middle School on Bennett Street in early December.

The school will become the home of middle school-level students throughout the central area of the county.

• Work continued on the new, $46 million Holly Hill East Lake Elementary School.

The 110,000-square-foot, two-floor school will serve students currently attending St. James-Gaillard Elementary, Holly Hill Elementary and Vance-Providence Elementary.

Industry investing $1 billion

Birla Carbon announced in October it will invest $1 billion and create 124 new jobs in Orangeburg County.

The company plans to construct a 435,000-square-foot building at the Tri-County Industrial Site in Orangeburg to serve as a synthetic graphite continuous-production facility.

Graphite is the largest component in electric vehicle batteries.

Operations are expected to be online in 2026.

It is the largest single announced capital investment by a manufacturing company in Orangeburg County’s history.

Orangeburg loses resident senator, other changes

Incumbent Sen. Vernon Stephens, D-Bowman, was defeated in November by Berkeley County lawyer Tom Fernandez in District 39, resulting in Orangeburg County losing a resident senator.

Fernandez won 51 percent of the vote in the district, which was redrawn three years ago to reduce the number of Orangeburg County voters and increase the number of Berkeley County voters.

Now Orangeburg County only has one resident senator, Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg.

Republican Jeffrey Zell of Sumter also defeated incumbent District 36 Sen. Kevin Johnson, a Democrat. District 36 includes portions of Orangeburg, Calhoun, Clarendon and Sumter counties.

Zell and Fernandez are the first Republicans to represent Orangeburg County at the Statehouse level since Rep. Elsie Rast Stuart in 1993.

Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, who served in the S.C. House for three decades, is heading back to Columbia as the House District 93 representative.

Russell Ott, D-St. Matthews, beat Republican Jason Guerry for the Senate 26 seat. Ott had served District 93 in the S.C. House of Representatives since 2013.

A year of building at Claflin, SCSU

Claflin University celebrated the grand opening of its new, 80,000-square-foot student center in March.

A theater with first-run movies, eSports center, meeting/conference rooms, food court and ballroom space are all included in the new center at the corner of Magnolia Street and Goff Avenue.

In November, the university also celebrated the renovation of the H.V. Manning Library.

The majority of the books moved to a digital format.

The renovation freed up approximately 20,000 square feet of space that was repurposed into collaborative spaces, computer labs and more.

South Carolina State University broke ground in April on a new, $54.7 million academic building.

The 94,000-square-foot building will house the university’s general education courses and education, criminal justice and humanities departments.

The facility will be built on Geathers Street, adjacent to the Engineering and Computer Science Complex.

Construction is expected to get started early in 2025 and last about 18 months to two years.

SCSU football – MEAC, Cricket Celebration bowl

The South Carolina State University Bulldogs, with an 8-3 record (4-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), won the MEAC’ Championship.

The accomplishment sent the football team to the 2024 Cricket Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

They played the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Jackson State University. It was SCSU’s second invitation to the bowl in program history.

Jackson State University defeated S.C. State 28-7.

For S.C. State’s success, head coach Chennis Berry was named the MEAC Coach of the Year.

Also, former coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough has been named to MEAC’s Hall of Fame.

Retail, restaurant growth

Six new restaurants – Chipotle, Mexican Grill, Tropical Smoothie Café, Dunkin Donuts, Firehouse Subs and Waffle House – are all in various stages of construction at the Magnolia Village Shopping Center on North Road.

All are expected to open during the first quarter of 2025 at the latest.

Take 5 Oil Change, located between Lowe’s and Tidal Wave on North Road, opened in the fall.

On Chestnut Street, Krystal Burgers opened a 2,200-square-foot drive-thru and dine-in restaurant next to Shoney’s in December.

In North, La Cienega Mexican Grill opened at 620 Main Street in September.

Also in September, Bamberg celebrated the grand opening of a McDonalds at 3668 East Railroad Avenue next to the Piggly Wiggly.

I-26 widening, I-95 bridge work commences

In January, state and local officials gathered to kick off the upgrade of the Interstate 95 and Interstate 26 interchange, located at the Orangeburg County and Dorchester County line.

The $240 million project will upgrade the interchange to have two separate flyovers to handle some of the high-volume movements through the interchange.

State and local officials also kicked off the $439.3 million Interstate 26 widening project from Gaston to St. Matthews in May.

The state is widening I-26 from four lanes to six lanes from mile marker 125 to mile marker 136. The work will include the reconstruction of the interchanges along the stretch and the rehabilitation and replacement of seven bridges.

The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2027.

In August, state and local officials celebrated the state’s receipt of a $175 million U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration grant to replace the Interstate 95 bridges over Lake Marion.

Half of the approximately $350 million construction project will be funded with state dollars.

The bridge project will also include the construction of a 24-inch water line from the Lake Marion Regional Water plant in Santee to Clarendon County to help an underserved area.

Bamberg, Calhoun and Orangeburg projects receive millions

An estimated $87.9 million of the state’s $15.8 billion 2024-2025 budget helped fund projects in The T&D Region.

The money funded higher education, health care, law enforcement, agriculture programs, cultural and youth organizations and government and court facilities.

South Carolina State University was the largest local beneficiary of state funding in the new budget, receiving about $76.4 million.

The allocation included about $63.1 million for S.C. State’s primary budget.

The state allocated about $13.6 million to the university’s Public Service and Agriculture division. The state’s contribution is the largest allocation in the PSA division’s history.

Other larger local appropriations include:

• The Department of Mental Health, through its Orangeburg Area Mental Health Center, received $2 million to secure an appropriate site for development of a crisis stabilization unit facility in Orangeburg County.

• Bamberg County courthouse repairs – $1.5 million

• City of Orangeburg, new city hall – $1.5 million

• City of Bamberg, tornado response – $1 million

UFO Welcome center burns

Fire destroyed the 30-year-old UFO Welcome Center in Bowman, a tourist spot and local oddity, in May.

The saucer-shaped wooden structure with a dome-shaped viewing area at the top measured at least 42 feet tall and 48 feet wide. 

The UFO Welcome Center had numerous brushes with news media over the years.

Its first exposure on national television was on Comedy Central’s Daily Show. The UFO and its builder Jody Pendarvis appeared on a number of other shows, including the Roseanne Bar Show and a Japanese news show.