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He and his wife have seen floodwater pour out and damage his home for 22 years – but this time it seems different. They have moved a lot of their belongings into the attic, hoping that the water will not rise higher than their home in Horry County, South Carolina.
A week after the passing of Hurricane Florence, the trillion liters of water dumped on the Carolinas are slowly moving towards the sea and leaving behind a path of destruction. Residential streets have turned into rivers and highways have turned into rivers.
In North Carolina, thousands of evacuees are still living in shelters and hundreds of underwater roads. The water has receded in some places, but downstream, according to officials, thousands of people could be at risk until next week.
"Floods in North Carolina send unprecedented amounts of water to South Carolina along the Lynches, Great Pee Dee, Little Pee Dee and Waccamaw rivers," Governor of South Carolina Henry McMaster said Thursday. .
"The damage in the northeastern part of our state will be catastrophic, going beyond anything that has been recorded in modern history," he added.
Half of South Carolina threatened by floods
Authorities said 23 out of 46 counties in South Carolina could be affected by the floods. For many people in these areas, it is not the first time that they are affected by a disaster.
In Conway, South Carolina, authorities said residents could see damage in homes that had never been flooded before.
"We are worried now that the water will go up 4 feet higher than the levels of Hurricane Matthew, which was an all time record and it will be very devastating," said Adam Emrick, city administrator.
"They have to be prepared no matter what the sky looks like, the floods are coming in. We know that happens," he said.
The death toll is rising
The total death toll in Florence is now 41 in the Carolinas and Virginia, officials said.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said on Thursday that there were 31 storm-related deaths across the state.
The South Carolina Department of Public Security said the number of state-wide deaths was nine.
An 81-year-old man found dead in a car in Dillon County after being swept away by water was among the victims in South Carolina, the public safety department said on Twitter on Thursday.
One person was killed during a tornado in Virginia, which was part of the Florence storm system.
Boy prays for floods to save his school
Five-year-old Carter, who is attending kindergarten at Conway Elementary School in Conway, South Carolina, wondered why he had not been to school for a week.
His father, Brad Whiteis, told him about Hurricane Florence and explained to Carter the possibility of a flood in the coming days.
When the boy learned that his school could be flooded, he asked his father if they could go to his school to pray that it would not be flooded.
"I wish my faith is always so strong," Whiteis wrote in a Facebook post about the photo.
CNN's Nick Valencia, Hollie Silverman and Gisela Crespo contributed to this report.
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