South Carolina sees record-high tides, heavy wind from Idalia

(NewsNation) — As Idalia made its way further east Wednesday and Thursday, it brought heavy rains and winds to the Carolinas.

In one case, gales were so strong they ripped a car right off the road, and tides reached record-breaking highs.

President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration after Charleston, South Carolina, recorded the fifth-highest peak tide in its history.

The brunt of Idalia did not hit the city, and it was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm before getting to South Carolina.

“I think in a way, we’re really blessed,” Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said at a Thursday news conference. “We really dodged a bullet.”

Still, things got pretty rocky Wednesday night.

Charleston saw its second “king tide” of the month, which caused massive flooding in the area. City leaders estimated about 40 different streets were underwater and made impassable. The Associated Press reports that a dock was upended in North Myrtle Beach because of flooding.

Charleston fire chief Daniel Curia said the department saw a 30% increase in call volume, with 22 water rescues, most of which involved removing people from vehicles in flooded areas.

One firefighter, he said, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

As of Thursday afternoon, most of the water had receded, allowing the cleanup effort to begin.

However, it wasn’t just water and flooding causing problems in South Carolina. At least one type of tornado touched down near Charleston. It was called a “weak” tornado, but it still did some damage, even picking a car up off a highway, flipping it, and tossing it to the side.

Police say the people in the vehicle had a few bumps and were feeling sore but would be okay after being taken to the hospital.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.