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Bonnie downgraded as it swirls ups the South Carolina coast

By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - Tropical Depression Bonnie was swirling over the South Carolina coast on Sunday evening, dumping several inches (cm) of rain on the area as it slowly crawled up the coast into Monday. Bonnie came ashore just northeast of Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday morning, bringing heavy rains, minor flooding and sustained winds of about 30 miles per hour (48 kph). The system, the first tropical storm to reach the United States this year, dumped as many as 8 inches (20 cm) of rain in parts of South Carolina and Georgia, and caused flooding in low-lying areas and streets at high tides, meteorologists said. "We're not out of the woods because the heavy rain could move back over us today if it really sits on us," said Carl Barnes, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Charleston. Heavy rains were still falling in eastern Georgia and portions of the Carolinas, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. ET advisory. Bonnie is expected to maintain its strength over the next 48 hours and inch its way northeastward along the coast, passing over or near the North Carolina coast on Monday night or Tuesday, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. Forecasters warned that the storm would likely produce dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. Southeast coast, a particular concern during the long Memorial Day weekend, when swimmers and surfers typically flock to beaches. In spite of the risk, dozens of surfers gravitated to Folly Beach near Charleston over the weekend to ride the storm swell and lumpy waves. But rains dampened Memorial Day weekend for thousands of beachgoers. Alli Pulley, desk clerk at The Tides hotel on Folly Beach, said guests were staying put despite the weather and the 132-room hotel was full. A swimmer went missing in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, just south of Wilmington, and police and U.S. Coast Guard teams were searching the area, authorities said. Thousands of visitors are in Charleston for the opening weekend of Spoleto Festival USA, an annual, three-week international performing arts event. Rain is expected to continue through Monday, but most performances are indoors. In Texas, a separate storm system has killed at least four people this week, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The county received as many as 22 inches (56 cm) of rain in just a few hours and emergency workers conducted numerous water rescues, the Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Near Austin a search was on for two people last seen struggling against rushing water on a roadway on Friday, said Lisa Block, emergency services spokeswoman for Travis County. Heavy rain prompted the evacuation on Sunday of two prisons in Rosharon, Texas, as the Brazos River is expected to reach historic levels, Texas prison officials said. In Wichita, Kansas, authorities resumed their search on Sunday for an 11-year-old boy believed dead after being swept away by a rushing creek on Friday, Fire Battalion Chief Scott Brown told KAKE TV. (Additional reporting by Frank McGurty in New York and Kevin Murphy in Kansas City; Editing by Frank McGurty and Sandra Maler)