Gov. McMaster reports 4 storm-related deaths in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – Governor Henry McMaster said four people were killed in South Carolina because of Tropical Storm Helene’s impact on the state.

Two firefighters in Saluda County, and two individuals in Newberry County. “We believe there will be more, but they haven’t been confirmed yet,” Gov. McMaster said during a briefing from the state’s Emergency Operations Center.

Helene struck Florida’s Big Bend late Thursday night as a powerful category 4 hurricane before moving north through Georgia; However, the storm’s size and strength brought wind, heavy rain, and tornadoes to much of South Carolina.

The storm’s high winds brought down powerlines and trees all over the state and prompted flash flooding in many areas.

John Quagliariello with the National Weather Service in South Carolina said widespread wind gusts occurred throughout the state overnight and into Friday morning. They brought down powerlines and trees all over South Carolina.

He said some of the highest wind totals included 75 mph in Beaufort, 72 mph in Aiken, 67 mph at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, 66 mph at Folly Beach, and 63 mph at Charleston International Airport.

Gov. McMaster wanted that the state suffered significant power outages and warned that it could take time before service was restored in some areas.

“We have probably more power outages than we’ve had, maybe ever, we don’t know. But we’ve had a lot of them before, and they always take a lot of time to repair, and this one is going to be no exception,” he said. Many cellular towers are also out.

Quagliariello said the National Weather Service issued 63 tornado warnings across South Carolina during the weather event. “It’s unknown how many tornadoes actually occurred,” he said. “The National Weather Service will have survey teams out over the next several days assessing damage.”

He said it would be difficult because some tornado tracks overlapped, and whether damage occurred because of the strong tropical storm force wind gusts or if it was an actual tornado.

With many trees and powerlines down, McMaster encouraged people to use caution. “We ask people to please be careful on the roadways. We’ve got a lot of electrical lines that are down. You could get hurt very badly,” he said.

Helene was downgraded to a tropical depression Friday afternoon as it neared Kentucky.