Lexington, SC 08/05/2024 (Paul Kirby) – Various agencies are working across Lexington County and the state of South Carolina as the remnants of Hurricane Debby has already smashed into Florida and is now heading north towards our state. The winds currently classify it as a tropical storm.
In Lexington County, SCDOT personnel are cleaning ditches and drains as the storms threaten to dump flooding amounts of rain over the next few days. Across the state, DOT has shifted into their 24-hour mode and activated many more crew members than they would normally keep on duty. They are pre-staging equipment in areas that are known to flood as we look forward to “massive amounts of rain” Tuesday and out through at least Thursday.
Tim Spires, sr. reporter for The Lexington Ledger, said that Dominion Energy has one of the flood gates open on the Lake Murray Dam and water is roaring through the spillway. In talking to the owner of Jake’s Landing near the dam, Spires said that he was told the water in the lake is still relatively high and its level has only dropped about 6” as the spill way flowed today.
SC Attorney General Alan Wilson announced earlier today that South Carolina’s law regarding price gouging during a state of emergency is in place and they will be watching for people who violate this law. This came after Governor Henry McMaster placed South Carolina under a state-of-emergency earlier today.
Law enforcement officers and other emergency responders are making final preparations as the severe weather moves closer to our borders. They will be involved in everything from responding to their normal calls plus working trees down on cars, structures, and streets. If things continue as predicted, we could also see power lines down across the state that will necessitate a response from utility crews and first responders. If Debbie moves back over the warm waters of the Atlantic and restrengthens into Hurricane force winds, those officers would be drawn into working lane reversals of interstates and highways leading away from the coast.
Most Lexington County Schools, with the exception of District 4 in the Gaston and Swansea area, are taking things slow and monitoring the weather. District 4 has cancelled the first day back because they were slated to start on Tuesday whereas most Lexington County Schools had their first day set for Wednesday. District 4 will not have any after school or extracurricular activities either.
Citizens are already urged to be prepared and follow instructions from emergency officials as we weather this storm. Things can change quickly, and you need to have your phone charged and emergency supplies ready just in case.
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