Helene blamed for 4 SC deaths; 1.25 million power outages mirrors Hugo levels with less damage, officials say
COLUMBIA — Significant power outages throughout South Carolina, totaling to 1.25 million, were reported due to Hurricane Helene by the time of a media briefing Friday, Sept. 27.
Suppliers such as Duke Energy and Dominion Energy all agreed the power situation will not return to “normal” until the middle of next week.
Gov. Henry McMaster confirmed there have been four deaths due to the hurricane: two firefighters in Saluda and two residents in Newberry. According to Department of Public Safety Director Robert Woods, all four deaths appear to have been traffic related.
Dominion Energy reported 386,000 customers without power — the same number seen during Hurricane Hugo, though the damage is not as severe, according to Dominion Energy President Keller Kissam.
Duke Energy at one point had almost 100% of their customers without power in certain counties. As of noon Friday, Duke Energy had 633,000 customers without power and had restored 77,000 customers' power.
Duke Energy President Mike Callahan called the damage historic for the company.
For the 19 electric cooperatives that work together across the state, 425,000 consumers experienced power outages, and 380,000 consumers were still without power Friday afternoon.
Santee Electric Cooperative, which serves Clarendon County in The Item's coverage area, had around 6,200 customers without power at their height, and all but 80 customers have had their power restored as of the briefing.
The Midlands got nearly 15 inches of rain and had winds gusts up to 75 miles per hour, according to John Quagliariello with the National Weather Service.
There were 63 tornado warnings issued statewide since yesterday, Sept. 26, though the National Weather Service is not yet sure of how many tornadoes actually touched down, Quagliariello said.
Quagliariello said residents need to be cautious of lingering flooding and additional gusty winds. Wind gusts of up to 40 mph are still possible, and the public is advised to be careful Saturday, July 28.
“We urge everyone to use caution while cleaning up and recovering from the storm,” Quagliariello said. “Post-storm fatalities can sometimes be as high as fatalities directly related to the storm itself.”
The S.C. Department of Transportation's priorities are, firstly, interstate corridors, secondarily, critical corridors such as where hospitals are located, then primary routes, and after those, they will begin working on neighborhood streets.
Justin Powell with SCDOT asked residents to limit their travel during and have patience as problems are being resolved.
Myra Reece, interim director with the Department of Environmental Services, said no dams have been breached, but they will be accessing over 200 post-storm for damage.
Power suppliers ask residents to stay away from felled power lines and issued a reminder to never use a generator inside of a residence, an attached garage or within 20 feet of an opening into a residence.