James Island residents deal with several feet of flooding after Saturday storms

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - People living on James Island said flooding from Saturday's storm and high tide reached several feet in some neighborhoods.

"Just a couple of hours ago, if you were standing here, it would have been about this deep right here," James Island resident Jimmy Mazyck said.

Residents in the Laurel Park and Marlborough neighborhoods said dramatic flooding on their streets and in their yards happens frequently, despite several complaints made to government officials.

"I mean, it's not fair for people," James Island resident Franny Henty said. "Their property values, their quality of living--it's just not right."

Photos and videos of those James Island neighborhoods show water sitting several feet above the street's surface.

Many people living in affected areas said flooding has damaged several houses in the past, costing them thousands of dollars in repairs.

"I personally have had it five times where it's ankle deep inside my house," Mazyck said.

The residents said constant development from local governments in surrounding areas has contributed to the increase in flooding problems over the last several years.

"It happened July 4, now it's July 7," Mazyck said. "It's starting to happen a lot more often. It's happened every year pretty much, but it's getting worse and worse."

Several people living in the Laurel Park and Marlborough neighborhoods said they have asked leaders from SCDOT, Charleston County and the City of Charleston to address flooding problems in the past. But the residents said nothing has been done to mitigate the problem.

At 6:30 p.m., SCE&G reported 1,095 outages in Charleston County, down from 4,120 at 4:15 p.m.

By 9 p.m., less than 200 were still without power.

The storm was blamed for a possible lightning strike on the Isle of Palms that sent two adults and a child to an area hospital. One of the adults, a woman was pulled out of the water in cardiac arrest and was revived after CPR was performed.

Lightning struck a vehicle on James Island and that strike was caught on camera.

The storm system dumped heavy rain in Charleston, prompting flooded streets in downtown and on James Island. Live 5 Meteorologist Stephanie Sine said Charleston recorded 1.52 inches of rain as of 5 p.m.

Berkeley Electric Coop reported 107 outages in Berkeley County.

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