Here\u2019s the story of a family rescued from their home as the waters hit chest-high on the ground floor<\/a>:<\/p>\n The first two boats wouldn\u2019t start. Anxiety built, but eventually the neighbors were able to crank a pontoon boat and steered it toward the Duprees\u2019 front door.<\/p>\n Emory, 8, was trying to keep her 6-year-old brother, Watson, calm as her mom and dad explained that a boat was going to come and they would carry the children outside. Emory\u2019s words ended up inspiring the entire family.<\/p>\n \u201cShe said \u2018You know, Watson, God challenges us but He knows we can handle it, and it\u2019s going to be OK,\u2019\u201d Mr. Dupree said. \u201cThat was surprising to us. It was a very special moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The family attends St. Joseph\u2019s<\/a>, which is near some of the worst of the Midlands flooding. \u00a0 Follow the link for notes on how to help with their relief efforts. \u00a0The parish itself was untouched, as it sits on high ground. Here\u2019s a round-up of the damage to Catholic parishes, schools, and nursing homes, and other facilities around the state<\/a>.<\/p>\n I mentioned in a previous post that our diocesan Catholic Charities (directly overseen by the bishop) is a good destination for your almsgiving if you wish to help with flood relief. \u00a0You can read about some of their work here, as well as other local Catholic relief efforts in the immediate aftermath<\/a>. \u00a0If a particular group or parish grabs your attention as one you\u2019d like to support directly, you can find contact info by trolling around the diocesan website at\u00a0SCCatholic.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll notice that on the front of that page right now is a tiny square with an appeal from the bishop for donations to assist in flood relief. Let\u2019s talk about that.<\/p>\n When we think of people who need assistance post-flood, the obvious category is families like the Duprees, whose homes were filled with water. \u00a0That\u2019s one category, and a serious one. Another group talked about less are those whose business or farm<\/a> was shut down due to the flooding. \u00a0The third\u00a0group, and it\u2019s the one that the various Catholic social assistance programs are especially well-equipped to help, are the families being pushed just over the edge with small-scale flood-related expenses.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s SCDOT\u2019s road closure update for today, from their Facebook page<\/a>:<\/p>\n South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Acting Secretary Christy A. Hall has issued her Sunday, Oct. 25, update on the transportation system in South Carolina. A complete copy of the Secretary\u2019s Oct. 25 update can be found at this link:http:\/\/www.scdot-transfer.org\/\u2026\/SecretaryStormRecoveryRepor\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n Secretary Hall\u2019s report summarized several topics including the resources deployed by SCDOT in the state\u2019s recovery effort, the current condition of the state-maintained highway system including remaining closures, a review of other modes of transportation such as rail, aviation, marine and transit services and debris removal operations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s good news overall. \u00a0SCDOT mobilized crews from around the state, and they\u2019ve been working like crazy people to re-open roads. \u00a0Keep in mind that we\u2019re talking about major structural damage on a massive scale \u2014 stuff that DOT usually just doesn\u2019t see. \u00a0For DOT, this flood was like waking up one morning and being told\u00a0that you have to build 500 new roads. \u00a0Today.<\/p>\n For the families affected by these road closures, it\u2019s like waking up and discovering that for the next month, or two, or three, your commute has just doubled or tripled.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a minor inconvenience if you\u2019ve got a good cushion of savings and a solid social network in place. \u00a0But if you were already trying to figure out from month to month how to pay your car expenses, or already just barely getting out of work in time to pick up your\u00a0kids from\u00a0school or the babysitter\u2019s house, now something really big has to give. \u00a0Rent? \u00a0Utilities? \u00a0Hospital bills?<\/p>\n These are the people the bishop\u2019s stewardship appeal are particularly well-suited to help. \u00a0Catholic, diocesan-funded programs around the state are already providing prescription assistance, help with utility bills, food, clothing, and a pile of other small but important fill-the-gap, in-kind helps for families that get underwater every now and then. \u00a0They are already the pro\u2019s at helping people stay in their homes, hold onto to their jobs, and generally push through the current crisis and get onto steady footing.<\/p>\n These groups are already working in tandem with other agencies to coordinate services and help clients find the kind of help that they need, in the amount that will genuinely benefit them. \u00a0These groups are already established in the areas affected by the floods. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t matter whether you can\u2019t pay your water bill because you are trying to rebuild your entire life or because you just can\u2019t afford to live thirty miles farther from work than you did last week. \u00a0Either way, you need help keeping the water on, and the diocesan collection is ideal for providing that kind of help.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the entry page for the diocese<\/a>, and here\u2019s a direct link to the donations page<\/a>. \u00a0Use the comments section on the donation form to indicate that your donation is specifically for flood relief. \u00a0Thanks!<\/p>\n\n
\u201cFlood Victim.\u201d \u00a0I don\u2019t think that word means what you think it means.<\/h2>\n
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\nSecretary Hall\u2019s report has information including:
\n\u2022 State road closures are down from a peak of 541 (Oct. 5) to 129 (Oct. 25), a 76 percent decrease.
\n\u2022 More than 425 SCDOT highway workers, approximately 67 crews, are staffing the recovery effort.
\n\u2022 15 debris collection trucks and trailers are operating. More than 36,000 cubic yards of debris collected total.
\n\u2022 SCDOT Call Center is operating 6 am\u20147 pm daily. There have been over 3.5 million visits to the SCDOT Road Conditions webpage during this event.
\n\u2022 All Interstate highways are open.
\n\u2022 12 primary routes remain closed statewide.
\n\u2022 The majority of the current closures are on the state\u2019s Secondary System.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"File:Adi](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/3\/35\/Adi_Holzer_Werksverzeichnis_260.jpg\/800px-Adi_Holzer_Werksverzeichnis_260.jpg\")
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