MARLBORO COUNTY, SC (WBTW) – Marlboro County officials have requested help from FEMA in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, but have not received it.
According to a press release from FEMA, the assistance will be available to State and to Tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency protective measures in the counties of Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Orangeburg, and Williamsburg.
Marlboro County Administrator, Ron Munnerlyn, said several areas in the county including Richardson Park, Shadyrest, and the Neck area near McColl were all flooded to the point where residents evacuated.
“We’re very disappointed in FEMA, and their response,” Munnerlyn told News13. “A lot of counties were pre-designated as disaster areas before the storm. We live in a very poor area, and folks often times are living on the edge already so when you have a storm or damage; it pushes people over the edge.”
Munnerlyn said county officials have met several times before Hurricane Florence hit the area, and have met since the storm hit to determine how they can help the public.
“Yesterday we fed 5,000 meals in the county with the help of the Red Cross,” he said. “Those are things that FEMA should do. Those are things that are beyond what county government should even have to be involved in, but we obviously care about the folks here, and we want to do what we can.”
Floodwater from McColl’s Mill Pond caused part of a Highway 381 bridge to collapse.
Donald Nelson lives down the road from the bridge, and his house was affected by the water.
“I got everything up as high as I could anticipating the high water because they said this storm was going to be much worse than the other one, and it was,” said Nelson.
Nelson was displaced after Hurricane Matthew hit in 2016, and had just bought furniture to move back into his home when Hurricane Florence hit the area.
“Back to square one,” Nelson said as he walked his flooded home. “There’s a lot of work to do, but I’m kind of glad I wasn’t back in it, and comfy and cozy.”
Munnerlyn said the county is in the midst of damage assessments, but said those assessments show that it would require more than half of the county’s annual operating budget to repair the damage from the storm.
“It would really be a huge burden on the government, particularly, [it’s] money we don’t have. We can’t handle this kind of loss.”
The County Administrator said he’s reached out to FEMA several times to ask for assistance, but has not received a straight response.
“All we are facing is bureaucracy and no definite answer,” he said. “And we’re just so disappointed they can make a quick assessment before the storm, but when people are desperately in need they’re telling us days or weeks. It’s just shameful.”
Governor Henry McMaster requested federal support for recovery from Hurricane Florence on Thursday in a letter to the S.C. Congressional Delegation.
McMaster states in the letter he has asked President Trump to authorize federal disaster recovery funds in multiple public assistance categories as well as individual assistance for 23 SC counties through FEMA. These counties include: Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Fairfield, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Marion, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Richland, Sumter, Williamsburg, and York counties.
