NPR News

Photos: What Ian's havoc looks like in South Carolina

By Seyma Bayram,

Jonathan Franklin, Virginia Lozano

Published September 30, 2022 at 4:12 PM EDT

Residents begin to return to their home following Hurricane Ian on October 1, 2022 in Pawleys Island, S.C.

Updated October 1, 2022 at 4:06 PM ET

Ian landed in South Carolina on Friday — the first landfall of a hurricane the state has seen in nearly six years. Ian, which was later downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, brought heavy rain, high winds and flooding along the state's coast, causing damage in some areas.

Ahead of Ian's landfall in South Carolina Friday afternoon, Gov. Henry McMaster referred to the storm as "very dangerous," but told reporters "this is not as bad as it could have been."

Images show us the destruction caused by Ian, which devastated southwest and central Florida as a Category 4 hurricane before slowing to a tropical storm. It regained hurricane status over the Atlantic Thursday afternoon, becoming a Category 1 storm.

Here's a look at Ian's impact on South Carolina:

Department of Transportation crews work to clear the debris from the road on Oct. 1, 2022, in Pawleys Island, S.C.

What remains of a pier stands at Pawleys Island, S.C., on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.

A local resident walks in a flooded street as Hurricane Ian bears down on Charleston, S.C., on Sept. 30. Ian hit southwest Florida as a Category 4 storm before crossing over into the Atlantic and is now hitting South Carolina as a Category 1 storm near Charleston.

A vehicle drives down a flooded street as rain from Hurricane Ian drenches Charleston on Sept. 30.

Young residents react as a truck sprays water while driving past them on a street flooded due to Hurricane Ian in Charleston on Sept. 30.

A local resident hauls debris from the road in an effort to keep gutter drains clear as hurricane Ian bears down on Charleston on Sept. 30.

A woman walks past a shuttered Apple store in the historic district of Charleston as the city prepares for Hurricane Ian to make landfall on Sept. 30.

Rain from Hurricane Ian floods a street in Charleston, South Carolina on Sept. 30.

A local child lies on a collapsed tennis court fence as Hurricane Ian bears down on Charleston on Sept. 30.

A police vehicle drives down a flooded street as rain from Hurricane Ian drenches Charleston, South Carolina on Sept. 30. — A police vehicle moves down a flooded street as rain from Hurricane Ian drenches Charleston on Sept. 30.

Caden Simmons, a 16-year-old local resident, walks with a U.S. flag on a flooded street after he recovered it from floodwaters in Charleston on Sept. 30.

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