Why does downtown Charleston, SC flood?

CHARLESTON David and Claudia Cohen were busy raking debris from their yard and reflecting on Charleston's third big flood in three years when a car whizzed down Gibbes Street near the Holy City's historic Battery. read more

Heavy rains virtually always cause downtown flooding, often substantial. Hurricanes guarantee heavy flooding. In 1989, when Hurricane Hugo hit Charleston, I stayed in the West Ashley Charleston area, about 3 miles from downtown. Charleston city had 4–6 feet of flooding. read more

and the most flood-prone time is 2 hours before and 2 hours after high tide (4 hours total) there is a 1-in-3 chance that any rain storm will be adversely affected by high tide. read more

Courtesy of the Preservation Society of Charleston/private collection. This postcard features the Charleston Municipal Yacht Basin, which was cut off from the Ashley River by Lockwood Blvd. and is now a placid body of water facing Halsey Blvd. read more

In 1989, when Hurricane Hugo hit Charleston, I stayed in the West Ashley Charleston area, about 3 miles from downtown. Charleston city had 4–6 feet of flooding. Had Hugo hit land just a few more miles south of where it made land fall to the North of Charleston, the flooding would have likely been 12 - 18 feet. read more

It seems that Charleston, SC floods whenever it gets rain. But, that is not true. Well, it does not flood every time, but it does flood a lot. Let me tell you why. Charleston is a city that is low, flat, and next to the ocean. read more