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Record Floods Ravage S. Carolina: 'It's Not Over'

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Days of deadly torrential rains are still gripping South Carolina Monday. Thousands of homes are without power and at least seven people are dead.

Some parts of the low country have already seen more than 24 inches of rain, and it has not completely stopped falling.

"I was scared; we couldn't get the car out. I started on foot. I thought we were gonna die," one storm survivor recalled.

South Carolina police are still at work Monday rescuing people from flood waters after rescuing hundreds of others this weekend.

"We had a mother and her child stranded and a rescue worker tried to get to them. He got stranded so we used an air rescue. We used an air rescue to rescue all of them and then started picking some people off rooftops," Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston Jr., with the South Carolina National Guard, said.

Record-breaking rainfall has washed out covered roads and bridges around the state, canceled classes, and closed schools.

"We haven't seen this level of rain in the low county in 1,000 years. That's how big this is," South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said.

From historic flooding to furious winds, the weekend's one two-punch of wicked weather prompted states of emergency not only in South Carolina, but also North Carolina, New Jersey, and Virginia.

"Just because the rain stops does not mean the rain is over," Lexington County, South Carolina Sheriff Jay Koon warned.

South Carolina can't even begin to count the cost of the damage or what people need in this disaster.

"Well, it's tough because everything that I own, that I know of, has been destroyed - all my memories, everything that I've worked for," resident Jeff Graydon said.

That's one reason why Operation Blessing teams are working with South Carolina school of leadership and area churches to assess the damage and bring aid to those who need it.

Operation Blessing is also sending resources to assist storm victims in Norfolk, Virginia, Charleston, South Carolina, and the Bahamas.

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About The Author

Efrem Graham
Efrem
Graham

Efrem Graham is an award-winning journalist who came to CBN News from the ABC-owned and operated station in Toledo, Ohio. His most recent honor came as co-anchor of the newscast that earned the station’s morning news program its first Emmy Award. Efrem was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but his formal television and journalism career was born across the Hudson River in New York City. He began as an NBC Page and quickly landed opportunities to work behind-the-scenes in local news, network news, entertainment, and the network’s Corporate Communications Department. His work earned him the NBC