City of Charleston preparing for flooding from remnants of Hurricane Sally

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The City of Charleston is preparing for flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Sally. Forecasters say the area may get as much as four inches of rain from the system.

City crews were out on Wednesday doing their part to try to minimize problems from the expected flooding. That included lowering the levels at Colonial Lake downtown.

Emergency Management Director Shannon Scaff said water is released from the lake when the tide is going out and then the lake is locked down.

Scaff said the city is also using pumps to minimize flooding and also clearing storm drains. With as much as four inches of rain possible from remnants of Sally, Scaff said all eyes are on the king tides.

“It’s all about timing, and when we see these sorts of numbers like 7.8, 8.1, we need to go ahead and put our resources in place and be ready for the worst case scenario, and that’s what we’re doing,” Scaff said.

Scaff says barricades will be posted on flooded streets and he’s warning people not to drive around them.

In Charleston’s Market, business owners also were preparing for possible flooding. Most business have sandbags ready to put outside their front doors to try to prevent water from coming in.

House of Jerky owner Tiaria Linkous said she is hoping for the best.

“I’m very nervous to see how it actually ends up,” Linkous said. “Hopefully it won’t be too bad, but I’ll get my sandbags our and take the best precautions I know how to take.”

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