2015 Appalachian Floods and Hurricane Joaquin

Major flooding resulted in central and coastal South Carolina where the USGS recorded peaks of record at 17 locations and sent crews out to make about 140 streamflow measurements. Flood documentation studies were initiated in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The USGS also monitored the effects of moderate coastal surges from Hurricane Joaquin. Throughout the coastal areas, the storm-surge sensor deployments were coordinated with the coastal change predictions and the contaminant sampling.

USGS hydrologists measured flooding from inland systems and storm surge from Hurricane Joaquin: Crews along the Atlantic States collected high-water marks and recorded surge and wave height with storm surge sensors and rapid deployment gages. Technical specifications, data downloads, and mapping web services are available.

Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments (CISA) Report: October 2015 SC Flood Event - An Integrated Assessment

An analysis by the Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments (CISA) at the University of South Carolina of the climatological and hydrological conditions which contributed to this extreme event and how to consider future risks as communities recover and rebuild.

South Carolina Flood Frequency Q&A: Dr. Robert Holmes, USGS National Flood Hazard Coordinator, takes some time to discuss and answer some hot issues related to the South Carolina floods.

USGS Activities in the News:

• USGS Newsroom: USGS Deploys Crews in Advance of Hurricane Joaquin in Virginia USGS field crews deployed storm tide sensors along the Virginia coast near Virginia Beach, along the Western Chesapeake Bay, and on the Eastern Shore ahead of Hurricane Joaquin. Storm tide sensors measure the tidal fluctuations and height of the tide relative to land surface.
• N.S. News & World Report: The Latest on rainstorm: Obama signs disaster declaration for South Carolina counties: US News tracks the effects of the huge rainstorms in the Southeast with help from John Shelton of the USGS South Atlantic Water Science Center.
• N.S. News & World Report: Sun Appears in South Carolina, But Flood Troubles Remain
• NASA rainfall progression video: NASA/JAXA's GPM satellite measured record rainfall that fell over the Carolinas from September 26 to October 5...
• Rising water in Midlands increases threat of flooding in Lowcountry rivers: The Post and Courier, with the help of John Shelton, reports on the progression of flood waves on South Carolina streams moving toward the coast.
• Coastal Change Hazards Portal: The USGS Coastal Change Hazards Team at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center responded to the threat of Hurricane Joaquin by forecasting the probability of coastal change from erosion, overwash, etc. Daily updates to the Coastal Change Hazards Portal in collaboration with NOAA followed Joaquin's run-up through the Atlantic.
• USGS scientists prepared to demonstrate a new capability that measures potential environmental health impacts from Hurricanes: Crews along the Atlantic coast collected sediment quality samples before and after Hurricane Joaquin passed offshore. Samples were analyzed for a broad suite of chemical and microbial contaminants as part of the USGS Sediment-bound Contaminant Resiliency and Response (SCoRR) strategy. SCoRR prioritized co-location of pre-storm and post-storm data in key habitats and public spaces to evaluate potential environmental contaminant threats that may have persisted in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin. SCoRR sampling locations were coordinated with deployments of the USGS SWaTH network.