Hurricane Matthew brought town’s demise; ‘miracle’ needed

NICHOLS, S.C. — Nearly a month since floodwaters consumed this Mayberry-like hamlet in rural South Carolina, few have returned. The fear is that many never will.

Nichols wasn’t directly hit by Hurricane Matthew, but its location 50 miles inland from Myrtle Beach, between two converging rivers caused it to fill up like a bathtub after 18 inches of rain fell.

A stew of water, fuel, fertilizer and sewage settled in homes for over a week. As the water receded, toxic black mold grew rampant, leaving nearly all of the town’s 261 homes uninhabitable. Brown lines, which start mid-way up once-white doors and get increasingly darker closer to the floor, show how the receding water “got nastier and nastier,” said the Rev. Eddie Collier, pastor of Nichols’ Methodist church.

He knew he was in trouble when he woke up in bed about 3:15 a.m. Oct. 10, and his hand hit water. His wife’s cellphone had just enough power to make one call, and they were rescued by boat several hours later.

While waiting for help, he opened a window. “But the odor was horrific,” Collier said.

His is among homes already gutted to the studs, thanks to the help of church volunteers and AmeriCorps members. Many more need to be gutted. Collier said he’s encouraging parishioners and neighbors to come back to clean out. The longer they wait, the more unsalvageable their homes will be, he said.

He saw one set of neighbors briefly: “They threw up their hands and left.”

Most of the people in town recently were there only for the cleanup process. Lifetimes’ worth of belongings was piled high along the streets. On some, the stench of molded furniture, wood and carpeting mixed with rotting food in garbage bags. Few residents had flood insurance. Mayor Lawson Battle said he worries about “the citizens who couldn’t make ends meet before this happened.” Most of the town’s 400 residents are retired or disabled, and they can’t afford to take out the low-interest loans FEMA offers, he said.

“These people are not getting the resources they need to even get back to town,” he said, noting 300 vehicles were also ruined. “It’s going to take a huge miracle to fix Nichols.”

The town’s six churches and all 22 businesses were flooded. Glass fronts along Main Street smashed from the pressure; 5½ feet inundated the pharmacy, washing residents’ prescriptions into the watery mix.

By Oct. 28, only a seed-cleaning business and auto mechanic shop had reopened.

MIKE SPENCER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Wendy Gable, with Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief, throws wood Oct. 27 onto a pile that was removed from a home damaged by floodwaters from Hurricane Matthew in Nichols, S.C.