As water levels rise in and around Horry County, people living along the Intracoastal Waterway are preparing for the worst.

According to a report from the National Weather Service sent on Tuesday, the Waterway in the Socastee area is expected to crest at 23-24 feet in the next 10 days. That’s approximately four feet higher than what it rose to after Hurricane Matthew.

Many people who live on the stretch of the Waterway on Smith Boulevard, which is off of Socastee Boulevard near the Family Dollar, packed up their furniture and valuable belongings to move them into storage or evacuate all together. 

‘If it stays the same as Matthew, I got water in my house. If it’s more, I still got more water in my house. I’m hoping and praying it won’t be as bad,” said Darris Fowler. 

Flooding from Hurricane Matthew forced Fowler and his family out of their home for six months while they repaired the damage.

“We had to replace all the walls, floors, subfloors, furniture. And flood insurance is good but it only pays a percentage,” he said.

He packed up most of his furniture into a U-Haul headed to a storage facility ahead of flooding that could worse than Matthew. While he’s hoping his home won’t sustain any damage, this time around he says, “I’m planning on it. I’ve got my contractors and stuff lined up. Last time I didn’t and I had a hard time. Hopefully I won’t need it but if I do, I’m ready for it.”

A little further down on the waterway, Dan Costello is waiting to see whether his home will take on water. He just bought his home a week ago, the day before Governor McMaster ordered mandatory evacuations. 

“On this block we are one of two houses that is on slab versus on stilts. So that does make us nervous. It does not make me sleep tight at night,” he said.

These homeowners hope preparation and prayer will go a long way.

“We’re gonna sandbag the back half of the house for sure … We also used another thing called a quick dam,” said Costello.

“Pray for us in Socastee. And hopefully we won’t need any flood insurance this time, I hope. But I don’t know,” Fowler said.