Carolinas bear brunt of Joaquin-related storms

Hundreds were rescued from fast-moving floodwaters Sunday in South Carolina as days of driving rain buckled buildings and roads, closed a major East Coast interstate route and threatened the drinking water supply for the capital city.

The powerful rainstorm dumped more than a foot of rain overnight on Columbia, swamping hundreds of businesses and homes. Emergency workers waded into waist-deep water to help people trapped in cars, dozens of boats fanned out to rescue others in flooded neighbourhoods and some were plucked from rooftops by helicopters. More door-to-door search operations are planned Monday.

• U.S. East Coast braces for hurricane-fed flash floods and record pounding rain
• Hurricane Joaquin leaving Bahamas, but ship still missing

Joaquin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Sunday as it churned on a northeastward path, about 320 kilometres southwest of Bermuda. Earlier Sunday, it was a strong Category 4 hurricane, with sustained top winds of 195 km/h.

With so much water, officials said it could take weeks or even months to assess every road and bridge that's been closed around the state. Several interstates around Columbia were closed, and so was a 120-kilometre stretch of Interstate 95 that is a key route connecting Miami to Washington, D.C. and New York.

"This is different than a hurricane because it is water, it is slow moving and it is sitting. We can't just move the water out," Gov. Nikki Haley said at a news conference.

One death was reported in the area on Sunday, bringing weather-related deaths to seven since the storm began days earlier.

State of emergency

U.S. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in South Carolina and ordered federal aid to bolster state and local efforts as flood warnings remained in effect for many parts of the East Coast through Sunday.

People were told to stay off roads and remain indoors until floodwaters recede, and a curfew was issued for Columbia and across two surrounding counties. The capital city issued a warning to boil water because of breaks in the water lines and the threat of rising water to the treatment plant.

Nearly 30,000 customers were without power at one point.

State forecasters said another 50 to 150 millimetres of rain could fall around the state, and it could be Tuesday before skies are sunny.

The low-pressure system also was expected to whip up stiff northeasterly winds in the Blue Ridge mountains of the Carolinas and western Virginia with gusts up to 56 km/h through Sunday, the weather service said. With tree roots already loosened in waterlogged soil, increased winds held the prospect of toppling trees onto power lines or property.

"We're not out of the woods yet," North Carolina emergency management director Mike Sprayberry said late Saturday.

High winds toppled a tree that hit a vehicle and killed a passenger Thursday near Fayetteville, North Carolina. Three people died in separate weather-related traffic incidents in South Carolina on Friday and Saturday, the Highway Patrol said. A drowning in Spartanburg, S.C., also was linked to the storm.

The Greenville-Spartanburg Airport in South Carolina recorded 58 millimetres of rain Saturday, smashing the previous record of 19.5 millimetres set in 1961, according to John Tomko, National Weather Service meteorologist at Greenville-Spartanburg.

"This one is extraordinary in that it's such a prolonged event," he said.

Emergency workers have carried out more than 100 water rescues in Charleston alone, according to CNN's Nick Valencia. He told CBC News 25 people had to be helped out of their homes in the city after they became stuck by rising floodwaters.

Motorists stranded in Charleston

Along the coast, rainfall had exceeded 60 centimetres since Friday in some areas around Charleston, though conditions had improved enough that residents and business owners were allowed downtown on a limited basis.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said he's never seen flooding as bad in his 40 years as mayor.

"This was a record storm," he said. "You know the amount of rainfall that we have experienced is unprecedented. I feel very fortunate that we were able to get through this as well as we have."

In New Jersey, storms dislodged an entire house from its pilings in a low-lying area of Middle Township in southern Jersey. No one was in the residence. Flood watches and warnings also are in effect in Delaware and parts of New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

The weather service issued a warning for residents living along the coast to be alert for rising water. A combination of high water and high waves could cause beach erosion and damage docks and piers.

In Ocean City, Md., spokeswoman Jessica Waters said moderate high tide flooding Saturday forced street closures in low-lying areas but caused no major damages or injuries.

The Atlantic Seaboard, however, was spared what could have been much worse damage had Joaquin not continued on a path well off the U.S. coast.