Hurricane Helene caused at least 201 deaths in the southeastern United States, according to a report prepared on Thursday, October 3, by the Agence France-Presse based on various statements from local authorities.
Half of these deaths (100) were recorded in North Carolina, 61 of them in the county that includes Swannanoa and the neighboring city of Asheville, with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Appalachian mountain range, flown over on Wednesday by the US president, Joe Biden, where Damage is visible everywhere after the hurricane. The floods washed away bridges, filled lakes with debris, while buildings were destroyed and roads washed away.
“What I saw there broke my heart.”said Joe Biden in X. “But on the ground we saw neighbors helping neighbors, volunteers and staff side by side, and people leaning on each other. “This is the United States.”he added. Reconstruction will require “billions of dollars and years”warned the Minister of Internal Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, aboard the presidential plane. “There are towns that have literally disappeared”he stressed. The White House announced that the president will visit Florida and Georgia on Thursday, states also affected by the hurricane.
The president announced that he would mobilize 1,000 additional troops for relief operations in North Carolina, reinforcements that would add to the thousands of first responders and members of the National Guard, a reserve force, already hard at work on the ground.
The neighboring state of South Carolina mourns 41 deaths, Georgia 33, Florida 14, Tennessee 11 and Virginia two. Helene is therefore the second deadliest hurricane to hit the United States in more than half a century, after Katrina in 2005. Scientists have linked its intensity to the warming of the seas caused by climate change. “No one can still deny the impact of the climate crisis, at least I hope so”said Joe Biden. “They must be brain dead if that’s the case.”he added.
A politically recovered disaster
The vice president and Democratic candidate for the presidential elections on November 5, Kamala Harris, traveled to Georgia on Wednesday, while her opponent Donald Trump has made the catastrophe a campaign argument and some of these states affected by the catastrophe are decisive for the vote. “I am here to thank you and listen to you”Harris said during a visit to the emergency operations center in Augusta. He congratulated the rescuers for their action to “meet the needs of residents”. Visiting a shelter, he also distributed meals to families affected by the hurricane and received a standing ovation when he left.
Donald Trump visited Valdosta, a Georgia city affected by the disaster, on Monday. “The federal State does not respond”said the Republican candidate, in front of a partially destroyed building. He previously accused the federal government and North Carolina Democratic officials of “Deliberately not helping people in republican areas”. “He is lying.”a virulent Joe Biden was outraged the same day, denouncing comments “irresponsible”. The president downplayed Republican criticism of his handling of the crisis, saying he had worked tirelessly, even as he spent the weekend at his beach house in Delaware. Joe Biden claims to have waited until Wednesday to go to the scene so as not to disrupt the already difficult relief operations. “In times like this, we put political politics aside”he said in North Carolina on Wednesday.
