Residents of Georgetown County, South Carolina, where five rivers flow into the ocean, were preparing on Friday for a deluge of water in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, which has killed at least 40 people.
The county of 60,000 people, on the Atlantic coast between Myrtle Beach and Charleston, is one of several areas in the Carolinas waiting anxiously as rivers start to crest, a week after Florence dumped some three feet of rain on the region.
Flooding could begin early next week, officials said during a community meeting on Thursday, as water continues to drain into rivers and reservoirs across North and South Carolina.
The city of Georgetown on Friday was handing out 15,000 sandbags as the county developed plans to evacuate residents.
“Please heed the warnings,” Sheriff Lane Cribb said. “Protecting lives and property will be our goal … You better pray.”
Thirty-one deaths have been attributed to the storm in North Carolina, eight in…