South Carolina officials expect storm damage to be in the billions

A family cleans up floodwater damage in Columbia, South Carolina.
(Image credit: Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Now that the rain that pounded South Carolina over the weekend has stopped, state officials say they have to start focusing on fixing the devastating damage left behind.

"I believe that things will get worse before they get better," said Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin. "Eventually the floods will abate, but then we have to access the damage, and I anticipate that damage will probably be in the billions of dollars, and we're going to have to work to rebuild. Some peoples' lives as they know them will never be the same." South of Columbia, 20 inches of rain fell between Friday and Sunday, and due to widespread flooding, residents are being warned to stay off the road. "This is not the time to take pictures," Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.