YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The rains may have stopped in South Carolina, but the danger and the work to rebuild are far from over.

"I believe that things will get worse before they get better," Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin told reporters Monday. “Armenpress” reports the aforementioned referring to CNN.

"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," he said.

North Carolina reported two storm-related deaths. Both were the result of motor vehicle accidents, in Cumberland and Jackson Counties, according to Julia Jarema, an emergency management spokeswoman.

About 550 roads and highways remained closed in the state, acting Transportation Secretary Christy Hall said, including 100 bridges and roads in the Columbia area. More closures are expected as waters flow toward the coast, she said.

State emergency officials said Columbia residents should boil their drinking water.

"Rising water from flooding can carry viruses, bacteria, chemicals and other submerged objects picked up as it moves through stormwater systems, across industrial sites, yards, roads and parking lots," the South Carolina Emergency Response Team said.

One bit of good news: No hospitals in the state will have to evacuate, as had been earlier feared, Haley said.

The governor said she had phoned in a request for a major disaster declaration to the federal government, seeking immediate aid in 11 counties -- a list expected to grow. President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration Saturday, retroactive to Thursday.

Haley also said she had talked to Obama, who offered his condolences and prayers as the state begins what the governor said would be a long assessment and recovery.

Photo by AP