SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. — The Sumter county community is working to get residents back on their feet after storms rolled through this week.
"Sumter did not see the impact that initially we were told we were going to get,” Shelley Kile said.
Kile is the Communications and Tourism Director for the city of Sumter. She says crews have been working this week to clean drains in the area to help relieve some of the flooding residents are experiencing.
“Many city crews from various departments are riding around today looking at assessing the situation, finding areas that might still have some issues. We have crews out that have been still digging out ditches today, making sure that all that water that is now draining into our storm water drains and or is getting to our storm water drains from all the neighborhoods and residents,”
Local businesses like Sumter Cut Rate Drug Store have been open all week so residents can purchase last-minute prescriptions.
“Lots of them are on life sustaining medication. so, we have to be prepared so that they can stay healthy and well. even during storms,” parmacist Ashlee Lloyd, said.
Pharmacists say they made sure to stock up on essential toiletries, over the counter medications and anything residents might've needed to get through the storm.
“Pharmacy is going to be one of the last things you see close during a catastrophic event of any kind. we have to be here for them,” Lloyd said
Sumter saw strong winds, heavy flooding and more than seven inches of rain.
The city of Sumter says as hurricane season is still upon us and they are preparing for future potential storms.
“Each time it's a little different than the last so you know we're going around just doing those assessments and making sure, seeing those areas that are causing some issues this time and hopefully be better prepared for next time,” Kile said.
City officials say they recommend residents do the following to get ready for the rest of hurricane season.
“Check your disaster kits and and look for things that you you may need to replace and or things you didn't think of that you might need the next time.” Kile said. She added “if you had sandbags this this time, whether you got them from us or from someone else, you can keep those. We're actually encouraging you to keep those sandbags so for next time. The tips on that is, you want to make sure that those sandbags, are put in a dry place, and kept out of direct sunlight.”