Gov. Haley stresses patience during storm recovery

Gov. Nikki Haley held a noon news conference Tuesday, giving the public an update on conditions and pleading for people to be patient in Hurricane Matthew’s aftermath.

“A lot of things have happened in a very short amount of time,” said Haley.

Two disasters have plagued the state - first the hurricane, now the flood, Haley said.

She acknowledged the frustration anxious motorists may feel when stuck in traffic trying to get back to their homes, but said the main goal now is safety, not getting everyone back in record time.

She told those fuming in traffic to “take a second and count your blessings,” because they still have their lives, she said. Three people in South Carolina were killed by the storm, and so far no other deaths had been reported in connection with Hurricane Matthew Tuesday morning.

S.C. Department of Natural Resources addressed river dwellers at the news event and stressed that their was still time for them to evacuate and asked for boaters not to go sight-seeing along the rivers.

S.C. Department of transportation officials said they were working to get all roads operational, but still had issues with 434 roads statewide.

S.C. DOT crews are working on restoring interstates first, then primary roads, and lastly secondary roads, according to officials.

Power outages continue to plague many, but outage numbers are dwindling and the governor requested that residents in the dark be patient as power lineman work hard, many leaving their own homes in the dark, to restore services for others.

This story was originally published October 11, 2016 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Gov. Haley stresses patience during storm recovery."