9 killed in S. Carolina flooding – governor

Flooding in South Carolina is so serious that President Obama declared a statewide emergency.

“We are at a 1,000-year level of rain,” South Carolina Governor Haley said at a press conference. “That’s how big this is.”

READ MORE: School roof collapses in N. Carolina, 20 students injured by concrete rubble (VIDEO)

The rain in South Carolina, courtesy of Hurricane Joaquin, is so intense that it is statistically expected to happen only once every thousand years.

The state got over two feet of rain this weekend, and Sunday was their wettest day in recorded history. The old record was set on July 9, 1959.

Columbia Metropolitan Airport has so far seen 6.87 inches of rainfall, according to Mashable.

Eleven aircraft, eight swift water rescue teams and 600 National Guardsmen are part of search and rescue efforts, the governor said on Sunday. So far more than 200 water rescues have taken place, the state’s emergency management agency said, according to CNN.

At least six people have been killed in weather-related incidents so far. A grim reminder of this disaster’s deadly effects also came in the form of coffins surfacing and floating through flooded graveyards.

Hurricane Joaquin also brought devastation to the central and southern islands of the Bahamas on Friday and Saturday before continuing to rage off eastwards.

A cargo ship, the El Faro, and its crew of 33 was reported missing near the Bahamas more than three days ago. The US Coast Guard reports that it sank during Hurricane Joaquin.

READ MORE: Debris found during hunt for cargo ship and its 33 US, Polish crew, lost in Hurricane Joaquin

Rescuers reported finding debris from the stricken vessel strewn across an area of 225 square miles, according to the Guardian.

Relief efforts are currently underway in the island nation.