Charleston, Coastal South Carolina Flooded By Irma

In the worst tidal surge since Hurricane Hugo, Irma’s wide, whirling bands thrashed coastal South Carolina on Monday with stinging rains and punishing floods that put vast swaths of the Lowcountry under water. The storm tracked through Florida and Georgia, 200 miles away from Charleston as predicted, but its enormous reach still spawned tornadoes, downed power lines, killed at least one person and caused widespread disruption. But it was Irma’s surge that put it in Charleston’s storied hurricane record book. At its height, the storm generated a nearly 10-foot tide.