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Drying Out After the Flood, SC Begins the Hard Part

CBN

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – Yards lined with furniture, mattress and trinkets. A boat sits on its side. A car with doors open dries out. Walking through some neighborhoods, you see a lifetime of precious memories gone in the blink of an eye.

"We are very blessed to be safe and know that our neighbors are safe," flood victim Alexis Shaw said.

House after house, the devastation is unimaginable.

"My parents had a beautiful backyard that went out about 50 feet of nice grass and then dropped down a pretty steep cliff," Columbia resident Chris Murphy said.

It's a cliff that's 12 feet deep yet the water still reached the roof of his parent's house. Even though the water has receded, the backyard looks like a lake. The water still reaches the base of the house.

They'd only lived here six months. Now their home must be demolished.

So many stories with similar endings.

Watch The 700 Club report to see how Operation Blessing is helping South Carolina.

"What everybody's doing is emptying out their house. this is what you're seeing all the way down and then you try to salvage what you can," one storm victim said as he toured his neighborhood with Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C. 

Volunteers Make a Difference

Thomas Simmons tried to save what's left of his wife's business.

"I feel like Noah. It was bad," Simmons said. "Living in the South you think it's never going to happen… but when it happens in our own backyard and you don't have any water and you don't have any power, it's very, very different."

Just days ago, water surrounded the shop. Now there are piles of trash outside the door and everything inside the store is on tables.

When asked to give a dollar amount for the loss, Simmons wanted to talk about something more important.

"What about our neighbors? How are they gonna be affected? How can we help them?" he asked.

And that was the response of so many.

"I'm going to a shelter later on this evening because a shelter in Manning needs a lot of help," flood victim Donald Melvin said. "It could be worse, but God's blessed us."

Volunteers and relief organizations are out in droves, including CBN's Operation Blessing.

"People are coming to the knowledge that God is good no matter what has happened to them and their families. It's not over," Operation Blessing volunteer Sharlyn Turlington said.

The aid group is at the forefront handing out food, water, Gatorade, diapers, toiletries and more. The group is preparing hot meals for people in rural areas.

NewSpring Church is also showing God's love.

"We want the people of South Carolina to know that we love them, that we care about them and that we are not going anywhere," Alden Ellis, of NewSpring Church, said.

Chris Murphy and his parents know this.

"My father is a Korean War vet. There were some veterans in there who searched the whole house for a tiny bronze star and they found it. And gave it to them," he said as his eyes misted over.

"The good in people is coming out right now," said Murphy and her husband Chris. "We are truly blessed to be alive and safe not everyone is in the same situation."

Turlington agreed.

"I know that there's a lot of tragedy right now. There's a lot of people being affected, but people are so thankful too," she said.

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