“We know that the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene is beyond imagination,” said, tuesday 1Ahem October, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a few days after the storm passed through the southeastern United States, killing at least 155 people.
“The localities have been erased from the map”added, during a press conference, the governor whose state, the most affected by the hurricane, deplored at least 74 deaths on Tuesday.
US President Joe Biden will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday, while Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential candidate on November 5, will travel to Georgia, where twenty-five deaths have been recorded. Their respective trips come as federal authorities’ response to the disaster has become part of the presidential campaign. Georgia and North Carolina are among seven key states that could swing the election.
Donald Trump visited a Georgia town affected by the hurricane this Monday and accused the federal state of not being “reagent” faced with the magnitude of the disaster. The Republican candidate had also previously accused North Carolina authorities, led by Democrat Roy Cooper, of “Deliberately not helping people in republican areas”. “He is lying.”replied a virulent Joe Biden. “What makes me angry [c’est qu’il] It implies that we are not doing everything we can. (…) It is wrong and irresponsible.”.
More than 1.4 million homes and businesses without electricity
On Tuesday afternoon, during the televised debate between the two American vice presidential candidates, Republican JD Vance, opposed to Democrat Tim Walz, implicitly criticized the Biden administration’s response to the catastrophe: “Americans need their government to do its job. And I promise that when Donald Trump is president again, the government will put the citizens of this country first when disaster strikes. »
More than 1.4 million homes and businesses were still without electricity on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. local time (1:30 a.m. Wednesday, Paris time), according to the specialized site poweroutage.us.
At least thirty-six deaths have been recorded in South Carolina, while Florida has fourteen, Tennessee four and Virginia two, according to a report prepared on Tuesday by Agence France-Presse based on statements from local authorities.
Areas inaccessible by road
Authorities expect the toll to worsen further as several areas remain inaccessible by road. Liz Sherwood-Randall, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said Monday that authorities had not heard from 600 people, although she said she hoped some of them had remained. ” envy “.
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Rescuers continue to work to try to find survivors and bring food to residents affected by the disaster, sometimes still isolated from the world. In the southern Appalachians, Hélène caused flash flooding with impressive damage. Images from Asheville, North Carolina, show neighborhoods flattened here and roads destroyed there by an overflowing river. Due to lack of road access, authorities are airlifting relief supplies, water and food.
For Joe Biden, there is no “no doubt” that these devastations are due to climate change which, by warming sea waters, makes the rapid intensification of storms more likely, according to scientists, and increases the risk of more powerful hurricanes.
