Hurricane Matthew made landfall on the South Carolina coast a decade ago, and the storm’s lasting legacy is the lesson that the wind speed at a hurricane’s center does not measure the hazard faced miles inland. Ten years later, the record-setting inland flooding from Matthew continues to shape how communities in the Carolinas prepare for tropical systems, with a focus on slow-moving riverine flooding, prolonged road closures, and extended family displacement that can stretch weeks after the skies clear.<\/p>\n
Matthew officially came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane at 11 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2016, near McClellanville, South Carolina, becoming the first October hurricane to make landfall north of Florida since Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Coastal gusts topped 70 to 80 mph. The deadliest part of the storm, though, was water. Saturated ground from earlier tropical systems combined with 12 to 18 inches of rain, turning neighborhood creeks and major river basins across the Grand Strand and Pee Dee into historic torrents. Across North and South Carolina, the storm was directly blamed for 29 deaths, 28 of them caused by flooding, and more than $10 billion in damage across the United States.<\/p>\n
As Matthew pushed northeast along the South Carolina coastline, storm surge running 3 to 5 feet above normal astronomical high tides inundated low-lying coastal areas. In Myrtle Beach, massive breaking waves tore away most of Springmaid Pier, including the NOAA weather station anchored to the end of the structure. Weather data abruptly ceased between 12:18 p.m. and 12:24 p.m. that morning, marking the moment the historic landmark collapsed into the Atlantic. Just to the south, Surfside Pier lost roughly half of its 689-foot deck, and Garden City Pier sustained heavy structural damage. Early on the morning of landfall, an EF-0 tornado also touched down in North Myrtle Beach, carving a 1.5-mile path with estimated 85 mph winds that snapped trees and damaged area properties.<\/p>\n
Rainfall rates inland escalated to 1 to 2 inches per hour over ground already soaked by Tropical Storm Hermine weeks earlier. In Florence County, more than 12.77 inches of rain fell, triggering rapid, life-threatening flash flooding early on the morning of Oct. 8. The torrential runoff submerged major thoroughfares and led to two drownings after a vehicle was swept into floodwaters. In neighboring Marion County, a man died when rising water trapped him inside his home. Road washouts quickly isolated communities throughout the interior Carolinas, turning daily commutes into perilous hazards.<\/p>\n
For thousands of residents along the Waccamaw River basin, the real disaster began after the hurricane left the coast. Billions of gallons of upstream runoff funneled southward from North Carolina into Horry County over the following week and a half. On Oct. 18, 2016, ten days after landfall, the Waccamaw River near Conway crested at a then-record 17.87 feet, almost 7 feet above major flood stage. The crest paralyzed the region. More than 1,000 Horry County residents were forced to seek emergency shelter. High water closed approximately 170 roads across the county, including critical stretches of U.S. Highway 501. Water backed up through Crab Tree Swamp, inundating portions of the Conway-Horry County Airport. Floodwaters expanded north along the Intracoastal Waterway, pushing water deep into neighborhoods in Socastee.<\/p>\n
A decade later, the storm is widely cited as the event that redefined local understanding of tropical cyclone risk. The Waccamaw River flooded again to even higher levels during Hurricane Florence two years later, reinforcing the lesson that slow-moving riverine flooding demands its own kind of vigilance. Localized river gauge tracking, live radar, and prolonged post-landfall monitoring have since become standard tools for emergency planning along the Carolina coast and inland river basins. The wind at the beach is one number, and the water rising in a town 50 miles away is the number that decides who evacuates and for how long.<\/p>\n
Matthew made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane at 11 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2016, near McClellanville, South Carolina. It was the first October hurricane to make landfall north of Florida since Hurricane Hazel in 1954.<\/p>\n
Saturated ground from earlier tropical systems combined with 12 to 18 inches of rain, producing flooding that was directly blamed for 28 of the 29 storm-related deaths across North and South Carolina.<\/p>\n
The Waccamaw River near Conway crested at a then-record 17.87 feet on Oct. 18, 2016, almost 7 feet above major flood stage, forcing more than 1,000 Horry County residents into emergency shelter and closing roughly 170 roads.<\/p>\n