Receding floodwaters lead to homecoming heartbreak

Asiah Lewis comes home to her apartment in Summerton, S.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015, three days after severe flooding forced her and other residents to evacuate. The apartment Lewis shares with her four children and her mother took on about six inches of water as record rainfall drenched South Carolina. Now her family is staying at a shelter with no guarantee how quickly the apartment will be cleaned and repaired. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum) Asiah Lewis comes home to her apartment in Summerton, S.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015, three days after severe flooding forced her and other residents to evacuate. The apartment Lewis shares with her four children and her mother took on about six inches of water as record rainfall drenched South Carolina. Now her family is staying at a shelter with no guarantee how quickly the apartment will be cleaned and repaired. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

By Associated Press October 8, 2015 1 min read

SUMMERTON, S.C. (AP) – As floodwaters caused by record rainfalls recede across South Carolina, residents are coming home to the heartbreaking reality of just how much they’ve lost.

Many have virtually nothing left after their clothes, furniture, and other possessions were claimed by the water.

And there are other signs it will be some time before life gets back to normal in the capital of Columbia: The University of South Carolina decided to move its home football game against LSU some 700 miles away to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university says more than 80,000 fans expected for the game in Columbia would have put too much stress on weakened infrastructure.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is warning of a potential billion-dollar cleanup bill.

Meanwhile, there’s still a threat of more flooding, especially downstream as the floodwaters head toward the Atlantic.