FEMA visits areas in Dorchester County impacted by historic rainfall

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency was on the ground in Dorchester County on Friday for a joint preliminary damage assessment to determine if the federal government should step in financially.

As Thomas McNeal, the county’s Director of Emergency Management, puts it – “it’s a day for us to tell them (FEMA) the story of what happened.”

Earlier this month, the aftermath of Tropical Storm Debby brought unprecedented amounts of rain to Dorchester County overnight. Homes and businesses flooded, and several roads washed away.

“I really hope they see the damage and help with a couple citizens in St. George where the floods did come up, you know, through the floorboards of the houses. I know that was very scary,” said St. George Mayor Kevin Hart. “I thank the good Lord I never had to live through that. Matter of fact, a lady, one that I really know, she actually turned 100 years old two days after the storm. And she’s never seen that before in her life and she’s been there a long time.”

Its stories like that the county wanted FEMA to hear during site visits. News 2 was with crews from the county, state, and federal levels when they stopped by several homes in Summerville.

A different team focused on the public areas. According to McNeal, the purpose of the visits was to see if FEMA agreed with the county’s findings from their own damage assessment.

“We’re really hoping that we can, as bad as it sounds, show well today and convince them that our county is deserving of a federal declaration,” McNeal told News 2.

If a disaster declaration is issued, McNeal explained the county could receive financial assistance from the federal government to help cover what they’ve spent on damage.

“Everybody has rainy day funds, but we still have a long hurricane season to go. We don’t want to dry up quickly. So, its really important,” McNeal said. “And it’s also important to our citizens, you know, our homeowners. If we can get that individual assistance declaration from the federal government, that’s massive for our citizens.”

The emergency management director said the visits were only set to last a day, but if they didn’t get to all of the sites, they would come back next week.