The terrain between Valdosta, GA and Anderson, SC where the bulk of the wind damage and deaths were is largely flat and is topographically distinct from the Blue Ridge foothills in the far west part of SC.
It's just that the strong forward speed of the storm allowed those Cat 1 level winds to surface a little further inland than you'd normally see.
My mom, aunt, and uncle were in hurricane shelter in Venice 20 yrs ago when Charlie was expected to make landfall there. They got very lucky when it made the last-minute jog and hit Punta Gorda instead. They have all passed on now. That area of FL has been long over-due tbh - it was even back then. Ironic, I just had my buddy from Detroit say his wife and he were trying to figure out another option for their annual winter trip to FL because they have always gone where Helene just destroyed everything. I told him Clearwater down to Venice is nice and not taken any direct hits from a hurricane..