‘Up in the air’: If displaced by storm, where to call home?

BENNETTSVILLE, S.C. (AP) — More than 10,000 people in the Carolinas remain in disaster shelters following Hurricane Florence — and many could find themselves essentially homeless once the floodwaters recede.

Rivers swollen by the storm’s rainfall still threaten to flood communities after Florence’s slow crawl across the states. Soon officials focused on evacuations and rescues will face a long, difficult recovery.

Among the first tasks will be finding temporary housing — from subsidized hotel rooms to government issued trailers — for thousands whose homes were destroyed or badly damaged.

Lutrice Garcia was still staying Tuesday at a shelter in Bennettsville, South Carolina, where she was told rising water from a nearby creek was already inside her home. Asked where else she might stay, she said: “It’s up in the air.”