“Thousand-year flood” was not a term on any South Carolinian’s radar before the week of Oct. 1, 2015. Hurricane Joaquin lingered off the coast for four days, propelling a record-breaking amount of moisture into the Palmetto State. The resulting devastation would be remembered as a thousand-year event, leaving behind billions of dollars in damage and thousands of citizens without homes or any means to recover.

People often say “things can be replaced” after disaster strikes. But for many, replacing things — especially homes — would be a nearly impossible task if forced to rely solely on their own means.

South Carolina's most vulnerable citizens suffered some of the worst impacts of the 2015 floods. Research shows that low-income and otherwise disadvantaged communities have a harder time bouncing back after a disaster due to a lack of various types of resources as compared to wealthier areas. Many of the flood victims weren’t financially equipped to repair their homes or find temporary housing. For a state that hadn’t experienced the impacts of a major storm in more than 26 years — especially one impacting so many living in poverty — the state could have overlooked the most vulnerable. The South Carolina Disaster Recovery Office (SCDRO) set out to ensure that would not be the case when deploying the recovery outlined by the grant provider, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

HUD created the Disaster Recovery Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-DR) following the events of 9/11 to address long-term unmet needs after a disaster. Following the historic 2015 Flood, SCDRO was formed to coordinate the disbursement of this type of HUD disaster recovery grant. Often thought of as one process, long-term recovery is separate from the immediate response to a disaster that is usually coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Upon learning that South Carolina would receive CDBG-DR assistance for the 2015 floods, Governor Nikki Haley tapped Kevin Shwedo, retired Army colonel and executive director of the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, to lead SCDRO. Shortly after Shwedo got the initial effort off the ground, retired Army colonel and former Ft. Jackson chief of staff JR Sanderson took the lead in designing the approach to recovery for SCDRO. Sanderson says one of the most crucial parts in planning for recovery was learning from the experiences — and pitfalls — of other recently disaster-stricken states.

“We talked to Louisiana about Katrina, we talked to New Jersey about Sandy, Texas about Rita,” Sanderson recalls. Having been a responder to Hurricane Katrina himself, Sanderson says these conversations helped the team think through not only what they wanted to accomplish, but what they wanted to avoid as well.

One of the most common warnings from other states was that the process could easily become politicized, something Governor Haley vowed would not be the case for the Palmetto State. The directive was clear: serve the most disadvantaged individuals impacted by this disaster, focus on housing alone, get the process started quickly and do it apolitically. The non-negotiable directives drove a targeted mission.

That targeted mission, Ran Reinhard says, would be the one of the main factors that contributed to the success of the 2015 Flood Housing Recovery Program. “It was simple, but it was highly effective.” Reinhard, a former lieutenant colonel in the Army, joined the SCDRO team early in the process in May 2016 and currently leads the office’s Mitigation program. Countless others who would join the SCDRO would bring military experience to the table, a skillset that many members of the team cite as a major factor in the operation’s success.

“The leadership had a strong knack for strategic planning,” says Phleisha Lewis, an original member of the SCDRO and current member of the Mitigation team. “Military experience might not have been the only factor in their capacity for strategic planning, but the operation certainly benefited from that background.”

Strategy was key. Every decision — even down to the team’s attire — was made purposely. Polos and jeans became the agreed upon “uniform” for the team in order to come across in a relatable, down-to-earth way. The team often jokes about being recognized in impacted communities as “the triangle people,” a nod to the office’s white triangle logo worn on the signature navy blue polo shirts that the team still wears today. Though the new South Carolina Office of Resilience logo now sits where the SCDRO logo did previously, the message remains the same.

“The people we served, and even those we didn’t, would see the triangle logo on our shirts, on construction signs and in other places, and came to associate it with a group that would deliver on its promises,” says Scott Sharpe, compliance director. “It built trust.”

Sharpe says that once construction began on some of the first houses, many other citizens who were impacted started coming out to intake sites because they saw that recovery wasn’t just lip service from another government agency. The team stayed true to its word, rebuilding and repairing homes for the most disadvantaged citizens impacted by the floods.

Instilling trust in people who had suffered devastating loss was of utmost importance. The team accomplished this through an outreach strategy that relied heavily on the network of faith communities in South Carolina.

“Contrary to popular belief, it’s not always easy to find the impacted people and areas after a disaster. Even the worst damage can go unknown, especially in rural areas,” says Reinhard. “But if there’s anyone who knows the people who are in need, it’s the local pastor.”

Ben Duncan, who joined SCDRO in October 2015 and now leads the office as the chief resilience officer, was keenly aware of this and made it his mission to reach impacted people through local churches. He says the outreach through the faith-based communities was a major factor in deploying recovery successfully.

“Ben was at a different church every weekend, sometimes going to two in one day,” says Sharpe. “He took ‘good news’ of a different kind to these congregations — that there was help available for people whose homes had been destroyed.”

These visits helped develop relationships with communities that were hit hardest by the floods. Sharpe admits that connecting with communities to offer assistance was sometimes an uphill battle because of historic housing discrimination against low-income and minority communities. The team’s response was to simply focus on the mission and let their work speak for itself.

Partners in Recovery

Working with mission-minded partners allowed the office to expand its reach. Horne, a management company out of Mississippi, would be chosen as the vendor responsible for implementing recovery services. It’s not uncommon in the disaster recovery world for local groups to utilize out-of-state partners in coordinating recovery. However, the SCDRO knew that having each partnering group close by would result in a better understanding of the scale of the disaster, and ultimately a more efficient recovery.

SCDRO designed the program so that everyone setup shop under one roof. Various partners worked together in the same building including Horne, the general contractors and SCDRO’s own compliance and audit teams, as well as representatives from the St. Bernard Project, one of the office’s major long-term recovery partners, and SCDRO’s Palmetto Disaster Recovery, the FEMA-funded case managers helping citizens get immediate assistance. The team says it was hugely beneficial in holding each other accountable. The setup worked so well that often during weekly special case panels, an official means of making decisions on hard or unique cases, partners would advocate against each other in the best interest of the client.

Another significant partnership was found in Dr. Susan Cutter, a professor at the University of South Carolina and director of the nationally recognized Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute. Dr. Cutter’s innovative Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI), a model that considers certain characteristics (income, race, age disability, and more) that cause people to be increasingly vulnerable to disasters, helped the team get an idea of areas in the state which housed the most impacted individuals. Because many of these citizens lacked transportation, Horne was then able to bring the intake process to them by using mobile intake centers, demonstrating just how crucial each partnership would be in bringing recovery to those most in need.

As a result of this focused approach, 100% of citizens served would be classified as low-to-moderate income. 98% of those earn 30% or below of the area median income; 92% are minority; and 52% have a disability and are age dependent.

Foundation for Future Success

Now, as the team completes construction on the 2015 program and nears completion of the 2016 Hurricane Matthew program, it looks to its past success to serve as a guide for the future.

“In the six short years that we’ve been in operation, we’ve managed CDBG-DR grants for the 2015 Flood, Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018, received a CDBG-MIT grant for statewide mitigation work, and have been officially signed into law as the South Carolina Office of Resilience,” says Chief Resilience Officer Ben Duncan. Governor Henry McMaster continues to support the recovery program focus helping the most vulnerable citizens and fully supported the creation of the Office of Resilience for the benefit of all South Carolinians. The office is now tasked with developing a statewide resilience plan, incorporating strategies for all areas of the state to better deal with future disasters, which are bound to increase.

“This type of responsibility can weigh heavily on you. For some teams, developing something so comprehensive while handling recovery and mitigation projects might be too intimidating, even paralyzing. But by this point, operating under this kind of pressure is just what we do. We know our mission — let’s get to work.”

The state-run 2015 flood housing Recovery Program completed construction Sept. 24, 2021. A total of 1,830 homes were repaired or replaced. Each completed project represents a person or family whose disaster damaged home was returned to a safe, sanitary, and secure housing condition. To date, between the 2015 Flood, 2016 Hurricane Matthew, and 2018 Hurricane Florence state led recovery programs, 2,972 homes have been repaired or replaced.

“Another 2015 or Hurricane Hugo could happen at any time,” says Duncan. “But you can’t focus on the ‘what ifs.’ We’re continually analyzing the 2015 operation, both its successes and shortcomings, so we can speed the recovery process even more the next time. Until then, it’s business as usual.” Business as usual, plus some.

The office, now officially operating as the SC Office of Resilience, looks to complete construction on the 2016 Hurricane Matthew program by early 2022 and finish the Hurricane Florence recovery within a couple of years. The Mitigation team already has numerous projects in the works including major infrastructure projects and buyouts in repetitive loss areas across the state. Resilience planning is also underway with the development of a Statewide Resilience Plan supported by numerous state agencies and other resilience and conservation partners. The team will identify the severe weather risks the state could be up against as well as pull together existing data to determine the steps forward in developing an implementable statewide plan. All of these priority efforts are balanced with a mindfulness of being ready for the next inevitable major event that will impact the Palmetto State. Preparation and commitment are key components to ensuring a stronger future for all South Carolinians.

 

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Written by Carissa Cochrane