South Carolina officials expect storm damage to be in the billions

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.

Across the state, nine people have died from weather-related events; five drowned after driving through floodwaters, and four were killed in car accidents, according to South Carolina Department of Public Safety Director Leroy Smith. At least eight dams have failed, a spokesman for the South Carolina Emergency Management Division told CNN, and there are "several others that are in the process of being over-topped."

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