Myrtle Beach swimming advisory lifted

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Saturday, June 16, 2018
Myrtle Beach swimming advisory now lifted
A young girl faced side effects from the ocean during high levels of bacteria.

Sections of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that were placed under a swimming advisory on Wednesday due to high levels of bacteria in the water are now safe.

But one family is still facing the consequences.

On Monday, Wanda Lucas, her daughter, and twin granddaughters went to Surfside Beach.

"I had looked at the forecast and saw that it was going to rain Tuesday. We wanted to make the most out of it Monday. We threw our things in the room and took off for the beach," said Wanda.

Wanda described the painful side effects that hit her granddaughter just moments after she got out the water.

"The diarrhea. The vomiting. We knew it wasn't going to stop. It just got worst," she said.

Monday night she rushed her granddaughter to the emergency room for treatment.

It wasn't long before others in the group started to feel the same side effects.

On Wednesday, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control issued a temporary swimming advisory for all beaches along the coast saying that high bacteria levels had been detected.

Even though the ban was lifted, Wanda said that doesn't help her family any.

"I told my daughter, we'll try to do a do-over. We'll wait a few weeks until everyone gets rid of this nasty virus," she said.

Officials warn of high bacteria levels in some areas of Myrtle Beach

According to WSOC, the high levels of bacteria affected these areas:

  • 16th Avenue North in North Myrtle Beach
  • 53rd Avenue North in Myrtle Beach
  • 34th Avenue North in Myrtle Beach
  • 15th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach
  • 23rd Avenue South in Myrtle Beach
  • Nash Drive in Horry County
  • Outfall in Myrtle Beach State Park in Horry County
  • 16th Avenue North in Surfside Beach
  • 11th Avenue North in Surfside Beach
  • 3rd Avenue South in Surfside Beach