USGS Flood Information   

• 2015 Flood Events
• Appalachian Floods and Hurricane Joaquin
• South Carolina Data Archive

Heavy rainfall occurred across South Carolina during October 1 to 5, 2015, as a result of an upper atmospheric low-pressure system that funneled tropical moisture from Hurricane Joaquin into the State. The storm caused major flooding in the central and coastal parts of South Carolina. Almost 27 inches of rain fell near Mount Pleasant in Charleston County during this period. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages recorded peaks of record at 17 locations, and 15 other locations had peaks that ranked in the top 5 for the period of record.

During the October 2015 flood event, USGS personnel made about 140 streamflow measurements at 86 locations to verify, update, or extend existing rating curves (which are used to compute streamflow from monitored river stage). Immediately after the storm event, USGS personnel documented 602 high-water marks, noting the location and height of the water above land surface. Later in October, 50 additional high-water marks were documented near bridges for South Carolina Department of Transportation. Using a subset of these high-water marks, 20 flood-inundation maps of 12 communities were created. Digital datasets of the inundation area, modeling boundary, and water depth rasters are all available for download.

Use the links below to download data or click the report image to read the full report:

OFR2016-1019_DATA.zip: 130 mb zipped file with all 20 Communities OFR2016-1019_DATA_Black.zip: 53 mb zipped file includes: Black_Creek_Darlington Black_Creek_Florence Black_Creek_Andrews Black_Creek_Kingstree OFR2016-1019_DATA_Coastal.zip: 5 mb zipped file includes: Coastal_Charleston Coastal_Georgetown Coastal_North_Myrtle_Beach OFR2016-1019_DATA_Columbia.zip: 22 mb zipped file includes: Gills_Creek_Columbia Kinley_Creek_Columbia * Mill_Creek_Columbia Rawls_Creek_Columbia Rocky_Branch_Columbia Saluda_Broad_Congaree_Rivers_Columbia Smith_Branch_Columbia Stoop_Creek_Columbia OFR2016-1019_DATA_Other.zip: 48 mb zipped file includes: Ashley_River_Charleston Crab_Tree_Swamp_Conway Green_Swamp_Sumter North_Fork_Edisto_River_Orangeburg Pocotaligo_River_Manning

* Update (Apr 11, 2016): Please note that the Kinley_Creek_Columbia dataset has been modified to correct the use of the wrong depth layer found in downloads prior to April 11, 2016, and all files above have been updated to correct a spelling mistake in the filenames.

For questions related to this site or to contribute content, please email Todd Koenig or Bob Holmes at the USGS Office of Surface Water.