The American authorities noted this Wednesday at 191 the number of deaths following the passage of Hurricane Helene crosses six stateswho became the second deadliest in the last 50 years across North America, which left more than 1.3 million people without electricity.
The state most affected by deaths is North Carolinawho recorded more than 95 deathsfollowed by South Carolina with 39, Georgia with 25, Florida with 19, Tennessee with eleven and Virginia with two, as reported by the American television channel CNN.
The president, Joe Bidenvisited North Carolina during the day, while the vice president, Kamala Harriswill visit Georgia this Thursday, just as his Republican rival in the presidential election, former President Donald Trump, did the day before.
It is worth noting that Biden announced the deployment of a thousand additional troops to North Carolina – in total there are about 6,000 in the six affected states – to help deliver aid such as food or water to isolated communities.
Likewise, he approved the disaster declaration for North Carolina, Florida and Georgiawhich will result in the provision of increased aid at the federal level.
“The President and I have paid close attention from the beginning to what we need to do to ensure that federal resources arrive as quickly as possible, and that includes what was necessary to ensure that we provide direct federal assistance. And that the work is in progress,” Harris said.
In just 48 hours, large areas of the southeastern United States were unrecognizable after strong winds and floods. Communities were isolated as water washed away hundreds of roads, buildings, homes and vehicles. With these numbers, “Helene” became the second deadliest hurricane to hit the continental United States in the past 50 years, after Hurricane Katrina, which killed 1,833 people in 2005.
