McMaster extends state of emergency in South Carolina following Hurricane Helene

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster issued an executive order Wednesday, Oct. 9, extending the state of emergency following Hurricane Helene for another 15 days.

“We will work as long as it takes to ensure all South Carolinians get the support they need,” McMaster said in a social media post.

The move allows the state to coordinate disaster relief efforts 

Helene began dumping heavy rain in the state on Sept. 26, even before it made landfall in Florida. It then came ashore and pushed into eastern Georgia, bringing tropical storm-force winds to much of western South Carolina. The National Weather Service estimated that a portion of Aiken County near Augusta saw a wind gust of up to 100 miles an hour. 

As of Oct. 8, the death toll in South Carolina from Helene stood at 49 persons. On Monday, South Carolina Emergency Management Director Kim Stenson said 29 counties are reporting 5,200 damaged homes, with over 300 of those being destroyed and 1,700 with major damage. 

At its peak, the storm left nearly 1.4 million homes and businesses without power. While nearly all those customers have been restored, just under 6,000 outages were still reported as of midday Thursday, nearly two weeks after the storm. 

On Sept. 30, President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in South Carolina because of Helene, allowing federal funding — FEMA — to be available to residents in 13 counties. 

As of Oct. 9, FEMA disaster and unemployment assistance is now available in 26 counties, including Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton, Jasper, Kershaw, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Union, and York counties; and the Catawba Indian Nation. Residents and businesses in those counties can apply for assistance with uninsured damage or losses caused by Hurricane Helene.

Lexington County announced Thursday they would host FEMA’s Disaster Survival Assistance program at the county public library’s main branch, 5440 Augusta Rd. That event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 12. Representatives will be on-hand from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to help register for FEMA and to answer any questions they may have. The U.S. Small Business Administration will also have a Business Recovery Center open at the Augusta Road Library location on Thursday, Oct. 10, until 6 p.m., Friday, Oct. 11, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then again on Saturday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The South Carolina Office of Resilience has been coordinating with state and local relief agencies to create a one-stop opportunity for residents seeking assistance and relief resources. Team South Carolina County Days will be at Greenville Tech Student Success Center, 506 S Pleasantburg Dr. in Greenville, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11.