Record-Setting Rains Submerge Parts of US Southeast

Charleston, United States: Record rainfall left large areas of the US southeast under water Sunday as roads were closed and residents were warned to stay indoors.

The states of North and South Carolina have been particularly hard hit by heavy flooding, but the driving rain in recent days has spared almost none of the US East Coast.

The wild weather was blamed for four deaths in the Carolinas since Thursday.

The storms are part of a separate weather system from Hurricane Joaquin, which was downgraded to a Category Two storm Sunday as it headed towards Bermuda.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has warned of the possibility of record rainfall through Sunday and President Barack Obama on Saturday issued an emergency declaration for the state, ordering federal aid for areas affected by flooding.

Streets were submerged Sunday in the historic old town of Charleston, South Carolina, as non-stop rain battered the city, with flooding closing restaurants and bars.

The National Weather Service said the city had seen 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain over the past three days, beating a previous record of 12 inches in 1973.

"It's the worst water I have seen in the 10 years I have lived here. Neighbors tell me it's the worst since Hurricane Hugo" in 1989, said 38-year-old Jamieson Clair, a resident of the city.

Power was out in parts of South Carolina and Haley reiterated her call for drivers to keep off the roads over the weekend for their own safety.

As of mid-morning the Red Cross reported that it had opened 11 shelters across the state.

The South Carolina Emergency Management Division tweeted that more than 200 swift-water rescues had been reported since Saturday night, while the state's Department of Transportation said at least 211 state roads and 43 bridges were closed due to flooding.

Meanwhile the University of South Carolina canceled all Monday classes.

The National Weather Service warned of "potentially historic and life-threatening flooding" across the southeast of the United States.

"The threat for widespread, catastrophic flooding will continue across parts of the southeast through the remainder of the weekend, as tropical moisture feeding into an area of low pressure produces moderate to heavy rainfall across the region," it said.

"Gusty winds are also possible, which could lead to downed power lines."

Bermuda under threat

Forecasters said Joaquin now is closing in on tiny Bermuda, with a population of just 66,000, where the potential damage could rival what was seen in the Bahamas.

In its latest bulletin at 1500 GMT, the US National Hurricane Center said Joaquin's "damaging winds" were expected on the island during the afternoon.

NHC forecast that Joaquin's center would pass "just west of Bermuda this afternoon," dumping three to five inches (7.5 to 12.5 centimeters) of rain by the end of the day.

In the Bahamas, a low-lying archipelago, residents surveyed the damage after Joaquin destroyed homes and left some without power or phone services.

"This is my 26th year living here and I have never seen this before," San Salvador resident Paul Turnquest said in The Nassau Guardian Saturday.

"This is the worst I've ever seen."

The Bahamas' National Emergency Management Agency was working on damage assessment.

The Bahamas is home to 385,000 people and visited by far more tourists every year about 1.3 million.

Search for vessel

Rescuers were still frantically searching for the El Faro cargo vessel, with which contact was lost early Thursday as the dangerous weather system approached the Bahamas.

Coast guard staff turned up "a number of different objects in the water" on Sunday via an aerial search, but were unable to confirm whether they were from the vessel.

"We found a few life rings, life jackets and there's been a report of possible oil sheen," Coast Guard chief petty officer Ryan Doss told AFP.

"We have boats in the water they will be able to get to some of that stuff soon" he said, adding that it was "the first day of good weather and the seas are down one or two feet (one-third to one meter)."

Tim Nolan, president of the company that owns the El Faro, said it had sent its only other ship plus a tugboat in search of the missing vessel and had recovered "a container, which appears to be from the El Faro, and observed what appears to be an oil sheen."

Coast guard staff said Saturday they had turned up a life ring from the missing boat.

En route from Florida to Puerto Rico, the 735-foot (224-meter) cargo ship was reported to be caught in the storm near Crooked Island, part of the Bahamas island chain.

It was from there that it sent a satellite notification stating the ship had lost propulsion and had a 15-degree list.

Twenty-eight Americans and five Poles were on board, the Coast Guard said.