Flood-Inundation Maps of Selected Areas Affected by the Flood of October 2015 in Central and Coastal South Carolina

Jonathan W. Musser; Kara M. Watson; Jaime A. Painter; Anthony J. Gotvald

doi:10.3133/ofr20161019

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Flood-Inundation Maps of Selected Areas Affected by the Flood of October 2015 in Central and Coastal South Carolina

Jonathan W. Musser·Kara M. Watson·Jaime A. Painter·Anthony J. Gotvald

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Abstract

Heavy rainfall occurred across South Carolina during October 1–5, 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.

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Source-reported bounding extent: 31.942839972853083° to 35.191766965947394° latitude; -82.55126953124999° to -78.541259765625° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Jonathan W. Musser, Kara M. Watson, Jaime A. Painter, Anthony J. Gotvald. 2016-02-22. Flood-Inundation Maps of Selected Areas Affected by the Flood of October 2015 in Central and Coastal South Carolina. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161019

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