CARY, N.C. -

On Wednesday, the Twitter feed of the South Carolina Emergency Management Division was filled with retweets, photos and other messages informing Palmetto State residents of deceptively deep waters behind road barricades, curfews, water distribution centers and ways to help victims of the flooding that has devastated the Carolinas in recent days.

No doubt the devastation brought on by storms and record rainfall has left state agencies likes these and their federal counterparts — not to mention the business and residents of the Carolinas — with their hands full of challenges.

Property damage certainly would be one of those. And given the high-dollar assets on hands at dealerships and auto auctions, flooding and natural disasters can be particularly concerning for businesses in the used-car market.

In the town of Moncks Corner, S.C., Laura Taylor and the team at Charleston Auto Auction just finished a drainage project at their facility at the end of last year. So, thankfully, the auction was spared any damage.

“We probably would have lost everything … it definitely saved us,” Taylor told Auto Remarketing on Wednesday afternoon.

She and her team have spent the past three days calling in to check on customers. They make about 150 to 200 calls a day, and about every 10 calls, they will reach a customer who has experienced some of the disaster’s wrath, Taylor said.

She said Charleston still managed to have its sale Tuesday, but customers from Columbia, S.C., had to find alternate routes to the auction.

Taylor, who is the president of NAAA’s Southern Chapter, emailed fellow auctions in this area of the Southeast to check in on them. Their facilities didn’t experience damage, she said, but there were customers and employees who were impacted.

She is taking a group of her employees and dealers up to Columbia to help with the cleanup. There is also a link on the auction’s Facebook page where those interested can donate to the American Red Cross.

Elsewhere, Kyle Ohman, who is the market vice president for Manheim’s Southeast market said the company’s auctions in the region didn’t see any impact from the flooding. But the company has offered assistance to its customers in need, he said. 

“During severe weather conditions, Manheim proactively plans and prepares to protect the safety of our employees, customers and locations,” Ohman said in a statement. “Fortunately, Manheim operations in the Carolinas were not affected by the recent flooding. However, as many of our customers were impacted, we will do what we can to help, such as offer available lot storage to those waiting for insurance claims to be completed.”

Up at ADESA, a spokesperson indicated that none of the company’s auctions were impacted by the storms, either.

But beyond property damage, one of the concerns for the auction industry, of course, is flooded vehicles. 

Auto Remarketing asked Manheim’s Matt Arias, who is co-chair of NAAA’s Auction Standards Committee, what impact this particular batch of flooding will have on auctions in terms of vehicles being brought in with flood damage — and what can auctions do about it.

He said via email that the flooded vehicles are “going to be a big issue.”

Arias, who leads a class that actually delves into such topics, said he has already warned Manheim’s auctions about it while also giving them the basics on flooding and inspection tips. Arias mentioned that NAAA is doing the same with its member-auctions via email.

To learn more, visit the NAAA links Arias provided:

http://www.naaa.com/standards/Flood_Damage_Basics.pdf

http://www.naaa.com/pdfs/NAAA_Flood_Damage_Supplement.pdf