LORIS, SC (WBTW) – Horry County was hit hard by rain Monday, with some areas getting up to seven inches.
News13 followed up Tuesday to see how people in low-lying areas dealt with the mess.
Flash floods overfilled a ditch at one apartment complex in Loris, sending water into the homes.
Neighbors say four to six inches flooded their floors and ruined their furniture and appliances.
The Red Cross was called out to help multiple families at the complex off Holly Street. Workers gave them cleaning supplies and helped clear out some of the water.
But even with the water gone, it still left behind a lot more trouble. “Nothing but mud,” Howard Holt said, whose home was flooded. “And I mopped the rest of the night.”
The 78-year-old and his wife moved in about eight months ago and say this is the third time something like this has happened.
The City of Loris said the problem has been going on even longer. “This place floods about every time we get a big rain or a flash flood,” Brandon Harrelson, Building Official for the City, said.
So whose responsibility is this: the city, or the property owner? When asked, Harrelson replied:
“The watershed off of this is pretty much his responsibility to get it to us. It’s our responsibility to take it out of town.”
But Fady Girgis, who owns the property, said the problem is with the ditches, which the city maintains. “It gets the water back to us,” Girgis said. “It doesn’t take it anywhere.”
Both men said they’ve been working on the issue together but agree sometimes that much water is out of their hands. “It’s just a waiting game,” Harrelson said. “Mother Nature.”
In the meantime, for those who live there, even a little more rain could bring trouble rushing back under the door.
“It’s the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever put my family through, and I don’t like it,” Matthew Tinnell said. “It makes me mad.”
The city said when it gets drier they plan to clear more tree limbs and debris out of the ditch. Harrelson said they don’t plan to add more ditches in the area, explaining that the water goes to the same place anyway, and once that place is full… it’s full.
