After South Carolina has been pummeled by the drought, Governor Mark Sanford has asked for nearly all of the state to be declared a federal disaster area. Sanford noted that more than 30 percent of many crops have been lost because of drought.

Read more stories about drought on our topic page.Only two counties weren't included: Beaufort and Charleston.

Charleston and Georgetown counties are the only two to be classified as "normal" by the state's Climatology Office.

More about what the declaration could mean is available at The State.

On July 21, the state asked residents to conserve water usage.

Update August 14: The Post and Courier flushes out the details of the request, reporting in part that Governor Sanford said Beaufort and Charleston were not included as they "are not reporting losses at this time."