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Ongoing coverage of South Carolina's recovery from the flooding of 2015.What had been Lindsay Langdale's Columbia home October 3, 2015 was a flooded ruin the next day.This coverage is made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In October of 2015, South Carolina received rainfall in unprecedented amounts over just a few days time. By the time the rain began to slacken, the National Weather Service reported that the event had dumped more than two feet of water on the state. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the subsequent flooding was the worst in 75 years.

S.C. Dept. of Natural Resources Studies Impacts of 2015 Flood on Marine Life

SC Dept. of Natural Resources teams are surveying fish populations in estuaries.
Alexander Olgin/SC Public Radio

Parts of South Carolina got more than 20 inches of rain the first week of October 2015. That influx of freshwater in the rivers and marshes lowered salt levels and flushed fish downstream. Scientists at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources are studying marine life and plants to see what temporary or permanent impacts the floods had on waterways around the state. 

DNR has been monitoring and testing water and animals for more than 25 years. Associate Marine Scientist Steve Arnott said that data will provide important context for results, which he plans to unveil in the fall.  

(Video: Mark Adams and Alexandra Olgin)