Charleston 'bracing for the worst' as Tropical Storm Debby nears

AccuWeather

The mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, tells AccuWeather the city is as prepared as possible, but unprecedented amounts of rain could take residents to their limits.

Transcript

00:00Now, as Hurricane Debbie, or at least Tropical Storm Debbie, continues moving north and east,

00:05Charleston, South Carolina, is in the path.

00:09Joining us now is William Cogswell, the mayor of Charleston.

00:13Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon.

00:16Glad to be here, glad to be here with you.

00:19All right, we'll dive right into it.

00:21Mayor Cogswell, what is the latest?

00:24What are your teams dealing with in the here and now?

00:28Well, make a good point.

00:30We're trying to be very proactive and be ahead of this.

00:33We are expecting 10 to 20 inches of rainfall, in some cases up to 30 inches,

00:39which is absolutely unprecedented.

00:41Of course, we're at sea level.

00:43Our systems are not designed to handle this amount of water.

00:46And with the wind, with the tides, with the potential storm surge,

00:50and historic rainfall, we are bracing for the worst.

00:55So, I feel like we are prepared,

00:58but you never know what Mother Nature is going to throw at you.

01:03Hurdles that we are expected to have to overachieve.

01:07We know there's a great flood threat in your city whenever severe weather arrives.

01:12What are you most concerned about with this storm, particularly?

01:18Well, again, unprecedented amounts of rainfall.

01:21And as I mentioned, our system really is not designed to handle this amount of water

01:27in this short of a time period.

01:28We have some drainage systems that date back to the 1850s.

01:32So, we're working around the clock.

01:34Our first responders, our stormwater crews are pumping out drains,

01:39just getting prepared.

01:40You saw the sandbags.

01:42We have residents that are all leaning in to protect their properties,

01:46to protect other buildings.

01:48So, we've also been coordinating closely with state, federal, and county governments,

01:53as well as other municipalities.

01:55So, I feel like we are as prepared as we can be.

01:59We, I think, have been pretty organized on this,

02:03but, you know, it's going to be a lot.

02:06It's going to be a lot, and it's going to be over several days,

02:09which is just going to, I think, take people to their limits for sure.

02:15Yeah, you mentioned the residents coming together,

02:18and how a lot of residents are preparing well ahead.

02:23Though, do you think most are prepared as we get closer and closer

02:27towards the peak of the event?

02:29And is there any other advice that you want people to know?

02:34Yeah, I mean, look, this is not your average rainy day.

02:39This is a lot of water.

02:40So, we are urging residents to stay put, to not leave their homes.

02:45We have our emergency personnel that are well-trained,

02:50ready to respond to any rescue needs,

02:55but we're hoping people don't put our emergency responders in those positions.

03:01So, we're really encouraging residents to prepare today.

03:05We anticipate the worst of the storm starting kind of midday tomorrow

03:09and going on for 24 to 36 hours.

03:13And so, we're just, again, asking people to stay put and be safe.

03:19All righty. Thank you so much.

03:20Charleson Mayor William S. Cogswell Jr., thank you so much for joining us.

03:26And, of course, our thoughts and prayers with you.

03:29Stay safe.

Category

Transcript

Recommended