The Latest: South Carolina emergency center open 24 hours

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The latest on the rain storm affecting South Carolina this weekend (all times local):

6:55 p.m.

The South Carolina Emergency Management Division is opening its command center 24 hours a day for as long as the heavy rain and flooding threat remain in the state.

The most severe flooding Saturday happened around Charleston. But a number of other places reported standing water and closed roads. Forecasters warn that several more inches of rain could happen through Sunday making the flooding worse.

Emergency officials on Saturday also opened up a phone line for people to ask question about the flooding. The toll-free number is 1-866-246-0133.

President Barack Obama declared a federal emergency over all of South Carolina on Saturday, freeing up federal money to help the state and local governments protect people and clean up.

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6:40 p.m.

Authorities say three people died in three separate weather-related traffic incidents in South Carolina since the heavy rains started.

The Highway Patrol says the deaths happened Friday in Aiken and Anderson counties and Saturday in Greenville County.

In Aiken, a woman walking along U.S. Highway 1 was hit and killed by a car around 7 a.m. Friday. In Anderson, a driver not wearing a seatbelt lost control and was killed when he crossed the center line and hit an oncoming car around 1:30 p.m. Friday.

In Mauldin, a woman lost control going around a curve and her car struck a tree around 3:45 a.m. Saturday. She wasn’t wearing a seatbelt either.

So far, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division has not reported any deaths directly to flooding.

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3:10 p.m.

Roads and bridges in South Carolina have been washed out by the heavy rains falling across the state.

Authorities report that two bridges in Florence County have been washed out while an Orangeburg County road was washed away. The state Department of Transportation reports that 74 state-maintained roads are closed because of flooding.

In the Charleston area, almost 5,000 South Carolina Electric & Gas customers are without power.

The National Weather Service reports that 6.5 inches of rain fell Saturday at Boone Hall Plantation east of Charleston. About 15 inches has fallen in the Horry County community of Longs since Friday morning.

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2:05 p.m.

Police in Charleston have been going door-to-door to advise residents in flood-prone areas to voluntarily evacuate.

Police Chief Greg Mullen says that usually the city deals with storm flooding for several hours. This time, he said, it could be several days and areas that don’t normally flood are being affected.

By early afternoon it was still raining in Charleston as it has been since Friday night. Street flooding has stranded a number of cars and people had to be helped from them. A flash flood warning remains in effect through the day for the city and surrounding areas.

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8:20 a.m.

While areas on the South Carolina coast and in the Midlands have been experiencing heavy rains, the worst may be yet to come for the Upstate and the mountains.

The National Weather Service forecasters warn the intensity of the rainfall in the Upstate will increase as moisture moves in from the east on Saturday. Heavy rainfall has already left the soil in many areas saturated.

Forecasters warn residents that the axis of the heaviest rain will be in the upper Savannah River valley and some places in the area could receive 8 inches to a foot of additional rain before the rainfall tapers off by early Monday.

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7:39 a.m.

Heavy rains overnight have caused street flooding in downtown Charleston prompting police to close roads leading onto the Charleston peninsula which includes the city’s historic district.

The National Weather Service said between 3 and 5 inches of rain had fallen in the area overnight and it was still raining heavily about dawn.

A flash flood warning is in effect in the area until midmorning.

Authorities say that flood waters were approaching some homes in the West Ashley suburbs of the city.

Heavy rains continued Saturday morning from Charleston on the coast northwest through the state to Rock Hill and Spartanburg near Charlotte, North Carolina.

Heavy rains are expected through Saturday before tapering off on Sunday.