South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said the rains that hammered South Carolina over the weekend were the worst in the state's history. Authorities said the freak weather caused at least eight deaths in the Carolinas.
"We haven't seen this level of rain in a thousand years. That's how big this is," said Haley on Sunday, according to the Huffington Post.
Just 12 hours before she spoke to the media, the governor said 754 calls for assistance and 320 collisions had been reported. At least eight people were killed.
She said "it is literally changing by the minute."
As Hurricane Joaquin came close to the east coast, more than 20 inches of rain fell on South Carolina that resulted in closing down of roads and school districts and the enforcement of curfews.
The National Weather Service (NWS) bureau in South Carolina said the more than 24-inch rainfall in Boone Hall and the more than 18-inch rainfall near Kiawah were "mind-boggling."
"Many areas in the State from the Midlands to the Low Country have seen in excess of 10.00 inches of rain in the last two days. Charleston observed 11.50 inches of rain on October 3, which is a new daily record and a new all-time 24-hour record. To put this in perspective, 11.50 inches is 22.5 percent of the annual normal rainfall for the City of Charleston," it said in a Facebook update.
"I have lived here for over 45 years and I have never seen it this way," said Mickey Williams of Sullivan's Island, a town west of Charleston. "Huge puddles ... some about 2 to 3 feet deep in areas that are low lying."
Freddy Podris, who lives in Mount Pleasant, said, "Some houses had waist-high water inside."
"One friend with a newborn evacuated to her second floor last night once the water started pouring into her house. Another friend is using sandbags as the water rises and surrounds their house," he said.
Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, said, "Joaquin has been traveling over a record-warm ocean surface and undoubtedly that has contributed to its rapid intensification."
"In a very basic sense, warmer ocean surface temperatures mean there is more energy available to strengthen these storms. So we expect more intense hurricanes in general in a warmer world," he said.
