MORNING NEWSBREAK | More than 750,000 South Carolina electricity customers were without power this morning at 8 a.m. – more than any surrounding state hammered last week by Hurricane Helene. In Georgia, more than 570,000 customers were without power. In North Carolina, those without electricity totaled more than 459,000.
According to PowerOutage.us, some 752,519 customers from Colleton and Beaufort counties through the hard-hit Upstate were without power this morning. Some 73% of Greenville County was out, while 91% of Spartanburg County was out. Only two customers in Charleston County reportedly didn’t have power this morning.
In South Carolina, at least 27 people are dead of the nearly 100 killed so far in the storm. Hundreds of people are missing, particularly in the ravaged western North Carolina mountains where flash flooding washed away homes and businesses in small towns. Hundreds of roads remain out as people are stranded with supplies running low. Emergency crews are working diligently to restore power, communication towers and roadways, according to media reports. Duke Energy says it has to rebuild part of its system before it can restore power in some areas.
Now at risk: the Midlands, where Cayce residents are being asked to evacuate low-lying areas. The Congaree and Wateree rivers are above “major flood” stage from the water rushing from the mountains.
Gov. Henry McMaster said Sunday he was pleased with the state and federal response to the destruction from the storm. He said the state’s National Guard had been deployed to help those hurt by the storm.
In other weekend headlines:
CP OPINION, Brack: Let’s make smarter climate decisions. “If quick-moving but deadly Hurricane Helene has anything to teach us, it’s that monster storms can get anyone, not just people along the coast….It’s a solid reminder that bad storms are intensifying as the climate warms, something climate change deniers will have a hard time refuting as their neighbors discard everything from soggy mattresses to flooded vehicles.”
CP NEWS: CoverSC calls for Medicaid expansion in S.C. A new coalition of almost 200 medical, nonprofit and faith-based organizations is calling on the S.C. legislature to join 40 other states in expanding its Medicaid program.
- State education agency wants K-12 vouchers until end of school year.
- S.C.’s energy crisis: The 411 after a month of hearings
Charleston, Greenville tough for asthma sufferers. Charleston is the 9th worst in the nation for asthma patients, according to a new ranking. Greenville is 13th and Columbia is 30th.
New Coates book includes “intellectual pilgrimage” in S.C. An attempt to restrict stories by writer Ta-Nehisi Coates led to a journey to South Carolina that he writes about in his new book, “The Message,” which focuses on calling out injustice.
Mentally ill S.C. arrestees can wait for months for psych evaluations. But more money may be coming to clear up the backlog.
Charleston Co. seeks election poll workers. The county is encouraging people to work the polls on election day.
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