NICHOLS, SC (WBTW) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration representatives are in Nichols to help with recovery.
Nichols Mayor Lawson Battle says three of twenty two businesses are back in operation.
One of the three businesses in Nichols that are open include Carolina Eastern.
Carolina Eastern distributes seeds, chemicals and fertilizer to farmers across the Pee Dee and North Carolina.
“Fertilizing is our biggest business and that’s what we rely on,” said manager Jeff Godwin.
Godwin has been manager of Carolina Eastern for twelve years.
He tells News 13 hundreds of bags of seeds were damaged during the flood, along with equipment and the central office so operations had to be moved outside
“Our biggest problem right now is that we don’t have electricity. It’s just harder to fill the bins up without electricity,” Godwin added.
Nichols Mayor Lawson Battle says the first step to recovery is improving the town’s infrastructure.
“For the citizens and businesses as well we are still waiting for some flood plain levels and flood stuff so they will know if they have damage more than the fifty one percent of their value and what they will have to do to repair them and reconstruct them,” mentioned Battle.
For now businesses like Carolina Eastern will have to take one day at a time.
“You know just have to work a little bit harder and get the same thing done we would normally get done,” explained Godwin.The last day to register for federal disaster assistance is Tuesday, December 13.
FEMA and the SBA are available to help people in Marion County apply for disaster assistance on Wednesday from 9am-4pm at Nichols Town Hall.
Survivors can also apply online at disasterassistance.gov or by phone at 800-621-3362.
