Increase in number of dead persons in South Carolina storm.

South Carolina’s disastrous downpours approached almost apocalyptic levels Monday, with hundreds of roads closed, thousands of rescue workers deployed and the weather-related death toll rising to nine.

Gov. Nikki Haley pleaded for
citizens to stay indoors, with nearly 400 roads and more than 100 bridges shut down statewide.

“All you have to do is look out the window and see the flooding,” she said on the “Today” show Monday.


“It doesn’t take long for you to get in your car and realize you've got to turn back around.”

Haley said this is the kind of storm that comes only once in 1,000 years. President Obama, meanwhile, declared a state of emergency.

The financial toll of the storm is unclear. Haley said a damage assesment is "not going to happen quickly."

Three people died on Sunday alone — the day that was the wettest in history for the state capital, Columbia, which recorded nearly seven inches through the day.


SEAN RAYFORD/GETTY IMAGES
A destroyed Liberty Income Tax store in Columbia.

SEAN RAYFORD/GETTY IMAGES
A church in Columbia surrounded by flood waters.
One of the storm’s victims, 56-year-old McArthur Woods, drowned after his car was submerged. His body was not found until Monday morning.

Another victim was a transportation worker who died while serving downtown. The third was a woman who was swept away in her SUV.

With 1,000 law enforcement officers and 1,000 transportation department aiding around the state, rescuers waded the waters to go door-to-door checking on people. More than 40,000 residents are without water, and 26,000 are without power