Flooding forces S.C. beach residents from their homes

Betty Skeen stuffed towels beside her doors, trying to dam the flood.

She tried sweeping out the water, but it continued to pour in.

When she realized her efforts were futile, the Little River retiree placed two photo albums in her bedroom, out of the water’s reach, and left. A firefighter carried out her nervous border collie, Sara Su.

“Never seen anything like it,” she said Saturday morning as she walked through her damaged home on Copenhagen Drive. The water marks on her wall were about two feet above her kitchen floor. “I didn’t imagine it until 5 o’clock yesterday.”

Steady, driving rain forced some Grand Strand residents to evacuate their homes Friday night. The American Red Cross opened an emergency shelter at the First Baptist Church of North Myrtle Beach and four people stayed there overnight.

“A lot of people have family other places,” said Marie Ferrell, a Red Cross volunteer working at the shelter. “So rather than coming to a shelter, they go with family.”

Jay McMullen didn’t have a choice.

“My house flooded,” the 92-year-old said in between bites of a sausage biscuit at the shelter. “Six inches of water everywhere. Bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom. ... I was on the couch watching a football game. All of a sudden a knock comes at the door, water’s piling up in the house. ... I opened the door and some guy popped in and said, “You guys have to leave.’ So here we are.”

Kenny Manier, 34, recently moved back to the area.

“I get off the bus and the storm hit,” he said as he smoked outside the shelter.

A California native, Manier said he’s lived in Denver and Las Vegas. He had planned to stay in a motel, but with no money he’d found a dry spot at Wal-Mart just as the rain got heavy. A woman saw him and brought him to the shelter.

He said he’s looking for a more permanent place where he can stay with his wife and 14-year-old son.

The family lived here once before and that’s why they returned

“We were the happiest here,” he said. “(But) we knew the weather could get bad.”

In the five years Greg Gusler has lived on Copenhagen Drive, he’s never witnessed flooding like he did this weekend.

“I’ve never seen that pond up there get over that bank,” he said as he sloshed down his street in rain boots. “It was probably almost four feet deep down here.”

Gusler’s home was spared, but his neighbors weren’t so fortunate.

Skeen trudged through her muddy home, pointing out the soggy carpet and the crumbling plaster.

A Little River native, she left Horry County for Fort Mill decades ago. For 27 years, she ran the welcome center on Interstate 77.

She returned to her roots seven years ago.

“It was the retirement house,” she said of her soaked home. “We’ll fix it back.”

Skeen is staying with her sister in North Myrtle Beach while she gets back on her feet. Despite all she’s lost, she remains grateful for what survived the flood.

“I’ll be OK,” she said. “I’ve got Sara Su. She was surely a good one last night.”

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Flooding forces S.C. beach residents from their homes."