Laurens County faces $24 Million in damages as a result of Hurricane Helene, a storm that slammed into the unexpecting-it-would-be-so-bad local community with Category 2 hurricane-force winds.
That estimate could go higher, County Administrator Thomas Higgs told the County Council Monday night. Normally, the council meets the 2nd Monday of each month, but it delayed the October meeting until Oct. 29 as county staff worked diligently in the wake of the Sept. 27 storm.
“Laurens County had its world turned drastically upside down,” Higgs said. “We expected wind and rain, but we were hit by a Category 2 hurricane. Over saturation of the ground caused downed trees, and that had a cascading effect. It affected cell phone service, even the first responders’ priority system. 911 was affected; roads were impassable. Power failed.
“But, we got back up. Neighbors started helping neighbors. First responders handled life-saving calls in the aftermath. 400 roads in the county were cleared. Deputies carried chainsaws and helped clear roads.”
Higgs said Laurens County being excluded from the initial FEMA declaration was unacceptable, and the county staff and others connected with the government worked diligently to correct the mistake.
Laurens County has found 593 homes affected by the storm, including 43 homes destroyed, and “we may find more,” Higgs said.
He estimates that 200 homes in Laurens County sustained major damage.
However, help arrived. “The National Guard set up PODs (points of distribution) handing out food and water. County employees shuttled supplies to people unable to get to aid because of downed trees. Laurens County (government) itself faced many challenges.”
Higgs commended the work of State Senator Danny Verdin, who was “boots on the ground and there 24/7”; State Rep. Doug Gilliam; and Congressman Jeff Duncan, who Higgs said was integral in talks with President Biden, Governor Henry McMaster, and FEMA’s top officials.
“Our elected officials advocated for assistance, and county council members were there every step of the way,” Higgs said.
In an emergency meeting, the Laurens County Council passed a resolution temporarily changing the county’s form of government.
The change gives Higgs and county staff much more leeway in negotiating contracts that will clear the land of storm debris.
That resolution - by council’s unanimous action Monday night - is extended for the next 60 days.
The initial resolution was set to expire at 10 p.m. Oct. 29 - now it expires 60 days from that date at 6 p.m.
Higgs said the change allows the county the ability to follow and negotiate “FEMA’s hierarchy.”
Higgs set the current Hurricane Helene damages estimate at $23,744,644 in Laurens County and said that might be “scratching the surface” with everything from debris removal to mitigation.
The threshold figure for receiving FEMA governmental assistance is $300,000 in damages.
“We are tremendously blessed. We have seen the best of humanity in the absolute worst of times,” Higgs said.
In addition to his round-the-clock administrative duties, Higgs conducted daily news conferences with local media at the Hillcrest Square Administrative Center, and by telephone.
The county administrator said he was not sure how many individuals in Laurens County had applied for FEMA aid, but he said he could get that number for council members. FEMA attended a Team SC recovery event at the local Piedmont Tech campus, and set up assistance centers in the Laurens Public Library and in Clinton’s MS Bailey Municipal Building.
FEMA has a lot of responding to do - “This is one of the most catastrophic disasters the country has ever seen,” Higgs said.
Estimates released Oct. 30 says that South Carolina has 13,642 houses reporting damage across 28 counties and the Catawba Indian Reservation (those are within the Biden Administration’s declared disaster zone).
Council Chairman Brown Patterson said to Higgs, “You stayed on site, 24 hours a day;” then addressed county employees, “Every single one of you in this room went above and beyond the call of duty, you all stepped up beyond measure. We are thankful for employees and neighbors helping neighbors, and thank you to all the council members. Every single one of us gave back.”
Later in the meeting, council gave Higgs authorization to publish RFPs (request for proposals) for professional consulting services as the county continues to navigate the FEMA paperwork. Higgs said this is a method used often by Lowcountry counties, much more used to dealing with hurricane effects than inland Laurens County .
In council comments time, Shirley Clark said Laurens County survived the storm and that is a blessing. Luke Rankin said, “Laurens County will never be the same, but I was really encouraged by the help. The government cannot be the solution to every problem; this is when the local community comes together - you get by with your friends, (helping) next door neighbors who can’t get out of their house easily, people working with generators, getting food and water. It’s times like that when we get closer to each other. I realize how important it is to have a neighbor who has your back. It restored my faith in the community. There is so much out there trying to divide us, Things like this bring us together. The staff, the legislative delegation, the council members, we want to do as much as we can given the circumstances.”
Rankin offered a commendation to Thomas Higgs. “When we say you were working around the clock, that’s not embellished. Thank you for all that you did and everyone in your office and all the volunteers. The recovery process will be going on for many years. We will see trees on some people’s property for many, many years.”
“I second Luke’s comments,” David Tribble said. “I, too, am proud of the way the county responded. I’m proud of you guys. You did a great job and I’m proud of you.”
“I am proud of our county,” said Kemp Younts.
“That’s the first time in my life going through something of that nature, something we have no control over. We are always trying to control, but this was something over which we had no control,” Dianne Anderson said. “I don’t think I suffered. I think I grew. If you don’t grow, something is wrong. For neighbors who decided to come to someone’s aid, we are thankful.”
Anderson reminded the council that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month; and Council Vice-chairman Jeff Carroll reminded council that Oct. 29 was National First Responders Day.
He added about the Helene response, “Everyone who didn’t want to be a first responder had to be a first responder. We were living in the 1800s, with no power, thinking about ‘what do I need to do to help my neighbor.’ It took me 8 hours to get a quarter mile from my house, unsuccessfully.”
Carroll indicated he and others ran chainsaws but there were trees too large to move. “Our leadership was top notch. We are back to normal, but for county staff, it’s far from over. The work that was done was amazing. Anything that got slipped or missed, it’s because it was a slip or a miss not because anyone was not qualified.
“It may not happen again, but people are working to make sure you (the public) don’t have to worry about it.”
Patterson said, “Everybody in this room was affected by this storm but that includes our employees. A week after the storm, I was serving meals to firefighters, they came to work Thursday night expecting a normal shift and it was 48 hours before they could get back to their families.”
The council chairman also recognized the utility providers. Water providers operated on full generators and they never lost water, and “we are grateful for linemen support from outside communities” who with local linemen restored the electricity.
Summing up, Patterson said, “This is the greatest natural disaster we will see in our lifetime.”
