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MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. - Tropical Storm Gaston sloshed ashore in South Carolina on Sunday with near hurricane-force winds, spinning sheets of rain that flooded roads as the storm knocked out power to thousands.
Gaston made landfall near McClellanville, a small fishing village that was brushed by Hurricane Charley earlier this month when it came ashore for a second time after devastating Florida.
Gov. Mark Sanford declared a state of emergency Sunday and encouraged residents to stay in their homes so damage-assessment crews and utility and cleanup workers could do their work.
As much as 10 inches of rain fell in Charleston County, and a flash flood watch was in effect along some parts of the coast. Hundreds of residents were urged to evacuate ahead of the storm.
Hours after the eye of Gaston came ashore, steady sheets of rain pelted Mount Pleasant. Tree limbs littered flooded roadways, some of which were impassable. Palmettos were pushed to the pavement and road signs twisted in the wind.
Across the harbor in Charleston, Gaston flooded streets and pushed over power poles. At least 125,000 people were without power at the height of the storm.
The rain tapered off along the coast by midday, but blustery wind still raked the coastline near Charleston and many intersections had no traffic lights.
By evening, Gaston was moving north about 8 mph across inland South Carolina, with gusts slowing to 35 mph. It was renamed a tropical depression.
Charleston County officials said there was only one initial report of a serious injury, a resident hurt when a tree fell on a home.
Residents in low-lying areas in Charleston and Georgetown counties were urged to move to higher ground before the storm hit. Authorities also asked people living in mobile homes to evacuate.
John Legare of the state Emergency Management agency said about 30 people had sought refuge in five shelters in coastal counties as Gaston approached.
Gaston - the hurricane season's seventh named storm - had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph when it hit land but was down to 45 mph by early afternoon.
Other stormsHURRICANE FRANCES: In the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane Frances at 8 p.m. had sustained winds of 125 mph about 480 miles east of the Leeward Islands in the southeastern Caribbean, near latitude 18.8 north, longitude 55.8 west. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said people from Cuba to the southeastern United States should monitor the progress of the storm, which could strengthen on Sunday and threaten land by Labor Day weekend.
TROPICAL STORM HERMINE: Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Hermine formed in the Atlantic, the eighth named storm of the season. At 5 p.m., the center of Hermine was about 325 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., near latitude 32.4 north, longitude 71.0 west. The storm was moving northwest near 10 mph and maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph.