2 Minnesotans Head To S.C. To Help With Disaster Effort
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) – Two Minnesotans are traveling to South Carolina with the Red Cross to help with disaster relief efforts.
Mary Robertson, of Cloquet, and Peg Craig, or St. Michael, are en route to South Carolina Tuesday.
Robertson has been a nurse for over 40 years and will be assisting with health care. Craig will help with sheltering.
Tuesday was the first completely dry day in Columbia since Sept. 24, but officials warned that new evacuations could be ordered as the huge mass of water flows toward the sea, threatening dams and displacing residents along the way.
At least 14 weather-related deaths in South Carolina and two in North Carolina were blamed on the vast rainstorm. Six people drowned in their cars in Columbia alone, and several died after driving around safety barriers onto flooded roads.
Gov. Nikki Haley implored her citizens to stop doing that.
"Please help us help you," she said. "We want to make sure every bridge and road is safe for you and your families."
Water distribution remained a key problem Tuesday across much of the state. In Columbia, as many as 40,000 homes lacked drinking water, and the rest of the city's 375,000 customers were told to boil water before using it for drinking or cooking, an order that Mayor Steve Benjamin said will likely be in effect for "quite some time."
Officials from the Minneapolis-based retailer Target said the company has been among those helping. Representatives from the company said they have supplied thousands of supplies, including water, via local food banks.
The company also said it donated up to $125, 000 to Red Cross to help with shelter, food and clean-up supplies.
Authorities made 175 water rescues, pulling people and animals to safety. Nearly 1,000 people were staying in 26 shelters that the governor said were fully stocked and comfortable. Some 200 engineers were checking roads and bridges, but nearly 500 of them remained closed Tuesday, including a 90-mile stretch of Interstate 95 between Interstates 20 and 26, the state Department of Transportation said.
There are 2,000 Red Cross volunteers across the state of Minnesota. Just under 1,000 are trained in disasters and are on a list to be deployed if need be.
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