Sunday's feed: Florence leaves her mark on the Carolinas as Sumter begins return to normalcy

Stay tuned at this feed throughout the day as we continue to update it with information on Florence and her impacts in Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties and the surrounding Carolinas.

1 p.m.

All Clarendon School District 2 schools will be open on, Monday, Sept. 17 at their regular schedule times,  district spokeswoman Tonia Smith announced.

Power outages

Duke Energy: 268 in Sumter; 300 in Lee;  1 in Clarendon

Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina:  12,600 total, including 2 in Sumter, 17 in Clarendon and 6 in Lee.

Noon

All City of Sumter and Sumter County Government offices will operate on a normal schedule on Monday, Sept. 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All city parks and services, including convenience centers, the landfill and City of Sumter Sanitation  Services, will resume a normal schedule on Monday, too.

According to the Sumter County Emergency Management Office, the two schools that served as shelters – Mayewood Middle School and Sumter High School – have no occupants anymore and are now closed.

The Sumter County Emergency Operations Center closed at noon on Sunday.

11 a.m.

Florence is continuing to produce “widespread heavy rains” over much of North Carolina and northern South Carolina. Flash flooding and major river flooding will continue over a significant portion of the Carolinas, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 11 a.m. advisory.

The tropical depression is now 40 miles west of Columbia and has picked up speed. It is now moving north-northwest at 17 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.

All coastal watches and warnings have been lifted, though flash flood warnings are in effect across a large portion of southeastern North Carolina and portions of northeastern South Carolina. Flash Flood watches are in effect across much of North Carolina, northern South Carolina and portions of southwest Virginia.

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As of 8 a.m. Sunday, the South Carolina State Response Team has reported:

There were 63 shelters open with approximately 4,000 people in shelters.

Some 61,000 power outages in the state.

Highest rainfall total so far is 13.3 inches in Marion County; totals are expected to go higher as rainfall continues in much of the state.

There have been four confirmed storm-related fatalities; one in Union County, one in Georgetown County and two in Horry County.

I-95 is closed between Mile Marker 181 and 190 in Dillon County.

Local road closures reported in Darlington, Dillon, Georgetown and Horry counties.

Utility and debris cleanup crews are staged.

High water vehicles are staged and being used for rescue duty.

State law enforcement officers are on duty to assist local authorities.

The FEMA Incident Management Assistance Team is on site.

Anyone interested in volunteering can go to volunteersc.org to register.

The Public Information Phone System has answered over 10,000 calls, many of the calls today concern issues around flooding, road conditions and re-entry. Citizens can call 1-866-246-0133 for emergency information.

27 dams in areas affected by the storm are being monitored.

9:20 a.m.

All Sumter School District schools and offices will reopen on Monday, Sept. 17, now that Gov. Henry McMaster has lifted the order for school closures because of Hurricane Florence, according to a news release from the school district.

Our team has assessed all of our school buildings, and we are ready to welcome back our students and staff, said Shelly Galloway, executive director of communication and community engagement for the district. 

8:50 a.m.

As of 5 a.m. Sunday, Florence has weakened to a tropical depression, traveling west across South Carolina at 8 miles per hour. It is forecasted to fizzle out during the next few days, according to the National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m. advisory.

The storm was located about 20 miles southwest of Columbia with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph with higher gusts.

Heavy rain from Florence is expected to cause flash flooding in northern parts of South Carolina as well as exacerbate river flooding.

A few tornadoes remain possible in parts North Carolina and in eastern South Carolina throughout the day and into the night, states the advisory.

Power outages

Duke Energy: 476 customers are without power in Sumter County; 73 in Clarendon County; and 602 in Lee County.

Black River Electric: No outages reported

Santee Eletric: 16 outages reported in Clarendon County

Pee Dee Electric: No outages reported

By 5 p.m. on Saturday, Duke Energy had restored to more than 637,000 customers out of the 1.1 million outages in South Carolina and North Carolina, according to a news release.

However, the company expected more customers to lose power as Florence continued to move accross South Carolina that evening.

To report power outages, text "OUT" to 57801 or go to www.dukeenergyupdates.com.

Duke Energy Carolinas customers can call 800-769-3766 and Duke Energy Carolinas customers can call 800-419-6356 to report outages.

--- By Item Staff Reporter Adrienne Sarvis

3 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 16

While flash flooding and major river flooding is still expected in significant portions of the Carolinas, Tropical Storm Florence is anticipated to become Tropical Depression Florence "very soon," according to a 2 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

Heavy and excessive rainfall is anticipated for northern portions of South Carolina, bringing 5 to 10 inches of rain and 15 inches of rain in some areas.

Tropical-storm-force wind gusts are also expected to come inland.

Florence is located about 25 miles southeast of Columbia and 70 miles west-southwest of the city of Florence. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 160 miles to the east of the center of the storm over the coast and water.

Maximum sustained winds are recorded at 40 mph, with higher gusts, as Florence travels at 6 mph.

The storm is expected to increase in forward speed as it turns northwest today followed by a turn toward the north and northeast with an additional increase in forward speed on Monday, states the advisory.

SCDOT prepares for possible flooding along U.S. 378

South Carolina Department of Transportation and its Team South Carolina partners will begin work to construct flood barriers on two locations of U.S. 378 in the Pee Dee region today, according to a news release.

The barriers will protect the highway from floodwaters that are expected to flow overtop the bridges by Tuesday.

Those two locations are: U.S. 378 at Lynches River, approximately two miles east of Lake City, and the U.S. 378 interchange at the U.S. 501 Bypass in Conway.

Construction is anticipated to be complete by Monday evening.

Motorists should expect delays and alternative traffic patterns in the vicinity of these two work zones.

Through the work of 21 maintenance crews from the upstate and midlands deployed by 5 p.m. on Saturday, SCDOT has cleared all roads of trees and debris in the counties affected by the storm except for a few locations involving downed power lines, states the release.

However, SCDOT urges drivers to continue to use extreme caution on the roads and to obey reduced speed limits when driving through work zones, especilally at aforementioned work sites on U.S. 378.

Power outages

Duke Energy: 475 customers without power in Sumter County; 73 in Clarendon County; and 601 in Lee County.

Black River Electric: One outage reported in Sumter County and no outages reported in Clarendon and Lee counties:

Santee Electric: 13 outages reported in Clarendon County.

Pee Dee Electric: No outages reported.

--- By Item Staff Reporter Adrienne Sarvis