The death toll from Hurricane Helene rose to nearly 140 people this Tuesday, while emergency teams are struggling to find hundreds of missing people, particularly in Asheville, North Carolina which is among the hardest hit by this cyclone, which is already one of the deadliest of this century in the United States.
According to the count kept by the national media, with more than 130 deaths (137 according to CNN) in six states, Hélène becomes with Hurricane Ian in 2022, which left 150 deadin one of the deadliest hurricanes this century recorded in the continental United States.
South Carolina authorities reported today 33 deaths due to Hélène, while Pinellas County in Florida reported new deaths that bring the tally in that state to 15 deaths. While in some areas of the southeastern United States, such as Pinellas County, some roads are beginning to be made public after debris and brush are cleared, in western North Carolina the reality is different, especially in the damaged Asheville region, where hundreds of missing people are still reported.
“Communities have been wiped off the map. Dozens of lives lost. Hundreds of roads remain damaged or impassable. “Communication has been difficult due to power and cell phone outages,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper explained at a press conference on Tuesday.
In this state, where there are still some 400 roads and trails closed or impassablethe National Guard has managed to rescue about 500 people, according to local authorities, and 92 search and rescue teams are operating across the state and trying to access western areas.
In Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, about 40 deaths have been reported, while across North Carolina the figure is as high as 56; undoubtedly the state with the highest number of deaths from Helen, which made landfall last Thursday evening in northwest Florida and left a trail of more than 800 kilometers of destruction.
In Asheville, the latest official figures show approximately 600 people missing or incommunicado after historic flooding recorded in the tourist town located in the Blue Ridge mountain range, approximately 650 meters above sea level. Flooding has destroyed buildings and homes, as well as roads and trails, keeping this town isolated.
According to Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, the water and sewer system has been severely damaged and Asheville is in dire need of water, food and other essential items. This situation has led organizations and volunteer groups to organize delegations to knock on the doors of affected homes in search of trapped people, as well as to send aid by air via helicopters, as the organization Operation Airdrop.
The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said on Tuesday that it had recorded more than 150,000 support requests houses in the area affected by Hurricane Helene.
The hurricane system caused “a widespread and historically devastating disaster” in at least six states, FEMA Individual Assistance Director Frank Matranga said today. The federal agency has already sent nearly 2 million servings of foodmore than a million liters of water and up to 30 power generators in affected states, including North Carolina.
Until this Tuesday, there are at least 1.5 million homes and offices without electricityaccording to the specialist site PowerOutage. US President Joe Biden approved the declaration of a major disaster in 11 Georgia counties, in addition to the 17 in Florida, 25 in North Carolina and 13 in South Carolina, which he had already declared.
