Boat ramps, roads closed as Columbia-area rivers continue to rise after Hurricane Helene
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Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene is gaining strength and is forecast to track north toward SC where it will bring heavy rain & strong winds to the Midlands.
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Midlands emergency officials closed boat ramps along a pair of Columbia rivers as waters continued tor rise to near-historic levels in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department and Columbia-Richland Fire Department announced in a night release from the sheriff’s department that they had made the joint decision to close the boat ramps along the Congaree and Broad rivers.
“Citizens are strongly encouraged to obey this order and remain clear of the water,” the sheriff’s department said in the release.
The Congaree River is expected to crest at about 31 feet on Monday, which is just short of the nearly 32 feet it reached during the devastating floods of 2015 in the Columbia area.
The sheriff’s department also noted that Lost Creek Drive is closed from Pond Oak Lane to Lake Front Drive due to flooding. Local traffic only is allowed off of Broad River and Hollingshed. Meanwhile, all City of Columbia Parks & Recreation Greenway Parks are closed to the public for safety precautions. the release said. This includes Riverfront Park North and South, and the Saluda Riverwalk.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Congaree River, officials in Cayce on Sunday urged residents in the low-lying Riverland Park neighborhood to evacuate as river waters were rising. Emergency personnel in Cayce went door-to-door in Riverland Park to speak with the residents about leaving amid the flooding.
Hurricane Helene ripped through the Carolinas Friday and dumped torrents of rain across the region. Local rivers began to rise as rivers and tributaries from upstream swelled after the storm.
This story was originally published September 30, 2024 at 9:21 AM.
