WATCH NOW: Orangeburg drenched: ‘Another flood again’: lots of rain causes lots of problems

Sudden, heavy rains flooded parts of Orangeburg on Monday afternoon, requiring some individuals to be rescued from their vehicles and causing some roads to be impassable for a time.

For some residents at Malibu Apartments on Adden Street, the incident was like a bad, recurring nightmare as their apartments flooded.

“We are at it again. Another flood again,” said Rhonda Stevenson, who has lived in the apartments for about a year.

“We are trying to do the best that we can. That is all we can do for right now,” she said.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for central Orangeburg County on Monday afternoon.

NWS meteorologist Leonard Vaughn said at about 4:30 p.m. about 1.25 inches of rain had fallen in an hour at the Orangeburg Municipal Airport. It was still coming down.

An unofficial weather reporting station just northwest of the city recorded about 2.75 inches of rain in a period of two hours. The Santee National Wildlife Refuge recorded about 2.23 inches of rain. Rain was still coming down.

Vaughan said the NWS received reports that the Sunnyside Canal in Orangeburg rose about four feet in a matter of 15 minutes.

The canal runs near the Orangeburg post office and down to the Orangeburg Spray Park.

The rising water prompted the NWS to issue the flash flood warning and flash flood advisory.

Vaughn said the heavy rain was caused by a weak trough that became a weak low pressure system off the coast of Charleston, pushing moisture into the area. About 4 to 6 inches of rain were reported in the Charleston area.

Flooding in the City of Orangeburg was reported on Lakeside Drive, Doyle Street and U.S. Highway 301, Russell Street and Washington Street, Goff Avenue and Nance Street, Stonewall Jackson Boulevard and 301, Chestnut Street and Columbia Road, Chestnut Street and Magnolia Street, Green Street and Adden Street.

Orangeburg County Emergency Services Director Billy Staley said the storm flooded cars, requiring some rescues. He was unaware of any injuries as the storm was progressing.

Portions of South Carolina State University’s campus as well as the adjacent Chestnut Campus area also flooded. Some buildings on campus were inaccessible for at least an hour Monday.

Students and employees were asked to take precautions at Belcher and Turner Halls, as well as Mitchell Hall, a campus residence.

Staley and other emergency officials went to Malibu Apartments on Monday afternoon to see how they could assist.

Monday’s flooding marked the second time in as many months that Stevenson and some other residents of the apartment complex have had water in their apartments. A heavy rain storm flooded several apartments in early July.

Stevenson says no one has been able to help fix the problem.

“There is nothing they can do,” she said. “It is a mess. I can’t stay here tonight.”

“I need to move up on the hill,” Stevenson said, pointing to homes on higher ground near the apartments.

“I’ve got to move,” she said.

Concerned citizen William Green, who has been speaking out about the problem, said the city, county, state and property owners need to work together to fix the problem with the drainage and roads.

“It is ridiculous,” he said.

Eight people were flooded out at the Malibu Apartments, according to preliminary reports. Officials were working to see if the American Red Cross could provide residents with shelter until the apartments are more habitable.

Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Director and Chief Charles Austin, ODPS Deputy Director Edward Connor and City Administrator Sidney Evering were all at the apartment complex assessing the damage and talking with residents.

The frequent flooding on the property has also caused a number of sinkholes to form.

Evering said the city met Monday with Congressman James Clyburn’s office, the county, South Carolina State University, Claflin University and federal agencies about flooding in the county and the city.

“We are very cognizant of it,” Evering said. “We are trying to come up with a plan to address this.”

“We are working with the Office of Resilience on the stormwater drainage study that we are doing now,” he continued. “We are also trying to come up with a larger strategic plan to address the flooding not just specific to the City of Orangeburg, but to the county.”

The apartment’s owners also have responsibility for helping prevent the flooding, “because it, being in the practical flood plain, this is going to happen every time,” Evering said.

Evering said from what he has been told, even if all the pipes and drainage areas are working well, the area would still be prone to flooding.