Columbia and Houston, both ravaged by flooding, team up to help Florence victims

Two cities that know too well what disaster feels like — and, too, how it feels to get a helping hand — are shipping trucks of supplies to the victims of Hurricane Florence.

Columbia and Houston are teaming up to send more than 60,000 pounds of goods and supplies — from water and dog food to diapers and generators — to the Georgetown, S.C., area, where flooding caused by Florence has lasted for two weeks.

“Natural disasters are becoming more common and increasingly devastating,” Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said in a news release. “So we are grateful that our friends and fellow mayors across the country recognize the importance of lending a hand in time of need.”

Columbia experienced historic flooding in October 2015, which caused 19 deaths in the capital city and other parts of South Carolina and wrought hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

Two years later, in September 2017, Hurricane Harvey dumped up to 5 feet of rain in some areas around Houston.

Hurricane Florence, which struck North Carolina and South Carolina two weeks ago, has been blamed for about four dozen deaths in the two states and resulted in unprecedented flooding in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina, leaving entire towns such as Conway and Cheraw under feet of water.