On the upper end of the Grand Strand, which took the hardest blow from the storm, North Myrtle Beach public safety officials say they have reopened portions of roads that were temporarily closed due to flooding.

That includes a stretch of Hillside Drive, between 6th and 9th Avenues South, which had more than a foot of water built up. The city says there are no reports of any major damage.

Horry County's storm assessors didn't even bother to go out, since they say there were no reports of structural damage from Ernesto. The county's Emergency Operations Center shut down at 7:00 am Friday morning, after returning to Opcon Level Five, which means normal operating conditions.

Those living in inland areas felt even less of an impact from Ernesto. Some business owners in downtown Hartsville set out sandbags ahead of the storm, since the area is prone to rising waters. But we're told there was no flooding reported.

In much of the Pee Dee, rains from Ernesto fizzled out to just a light mist by 6:00 pm Thursday night.

Now that things are back to normal, county officials say they faired very well with the storm. There were no injuries and there was no structural damage.

County officials started anticipating Ernesto's arrival on Wednesday, not really sure what to expect. Thursday morning, the Emergency Operations Center was in full swing. Close to forty agencies monitored the storm.

Horry County spokesperson Lisa Bourcier says Ernesto was one of the calmest storms the EOC encountered as it didn't become a hurricane. However, she says it gave them a chance to really test their preparedness.

"It is good practice, the next two months are gonna be some busy months ahead and you can't get better practice than what we just went through," said Bourcier.

Bourcier says communication was good between the county and neighboring cities up and down the coast. The county also stayed in contact with the Governor's Office.

Governor Mark Sanford paid a visit to the Grand Strand on Friday to survey the damage. Sanford says he considers the storm a learning experience.

"Practice makes perfect, that's what my Grandma use to say," said Sanford. "I think it holds true with anything in life it hold true significantly with these storms."

During a news conference on Friday in Myrtle Beach, Governor Mark Sanford said that this year, communication between the state and local municipalities during the storm was improved from years past.

On his way to the Grand Strand, the governor flew over the coastline to get a look at any storm damage from the air.

Overall, the Department of Health say the beaches themselves faired pretty well. Health officials report very little in the way of erosion. No serious problems have been seen or reported. They say there may be some localized sand loss, but nothing major.

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