What kind of assistance is South Carolina getting?

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AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Work continued Tuesday to restore power to hundreds of thousands of power customers who were still offline after Hurricane Helene.

As of Tuesday, an estimated 618,000 power customers were without electricity, down from a peak of 1.3 million on Friday. Specifically, Aiken County has over 62,000 customers without power.

Utilities have said it could still take days before all customers see their power restored because of the widespread damage.

Gov. Henry McMaster held a briefing Tuesday afternoon from the state’s Emergency Operations Center to update the public on recovery efforts.

McMaster spoke on the 36 causalities throughout the state due to Hurricane Helene. 24 of those were in the CSRA.

On Monday night, McMaster and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce said you may be eligible for disaster unemployment assistance — counties include Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell and Saluda.

In addition, McMaster says his expedited major presidential disaster declaration has been approved. They’re working to get approve assistance for Allendale, Edgefield and McCormick counties.

McMaster says 973 National Guard soldier are within the state and more are coming.

“We’re bringing in an Air Force, but Air Guard resource from Florida. It’s called a Red Horse Unit. It’s a small unit, but it brings a lot of capability as it relates to what we need right now, and that’s debris-clearing capability. So, we look forward to having those soldiers or airmen from Florida tomorrow,” said Major General Van McCarty with the S.C. National Guard.

Their mission has been mostly to help clear roads, but now it’s moving to whatever individual counties need.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division also has agents in our area, specifically Aiken, McCormick, Edgefield, Saluda and North Augusta.

More agents are on the way to Allendale, Barnwell, Bamberg, Edgefield and McCormick counties.

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Justin Powell with South Carolina Department of Transportation says over 450 routes are still closed in the state, as of Tuesday.

Powell says power crews and transportation crews are working side by side to resolve the issue.

Mike Leach with South Carolina Department of Social Services says as of 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the state has 15 shelters, nine general population shelters and six medical need shelters open.

MREs (Meal Ready-to-Eat) and water have been distributed to Aiken, Allendale, Edgefield, McCormick and Saluda counties, according to Leach.

The Salvation Army is also operating canteens within Aiken, Edgefield, Barnwell and Saluda counties.

Leach says the state has requested 15,000 additional shelf stable meals and water for Aiken County. The water and meals will then be distributed regionally.

“We are meeting the needs being presented to us,” said Leach.

The South Carolina Department of Public Health added that all hospitals across the state have restored power.

During the briefing, a spokesperson with the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation shared some safety tips to practice during a power outage or storm clean up.

• Generators: Do not run your generators in your home or inside of your garage.
• Candles: Make sure they’re on a flat surface and away from objects that could easily catch on fire.
• Tree removal: Be careful. Assume power lines near the down trees are live. to wear correct personal protective equipment.

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